Historic setting for launch of BRDC Formula 4 Championship

29/04/2013

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The BRDC Formula 4 Championship sponsored by Comma got off to a hotly contested inauguration on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on the weekend of April 27/28th. The first three rounds of the exciting new 24 race series were each won by different drivers, and by the close of the opening encounters, British drivers occupied the top ten positions in the championship points table.

Conceived by former Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer and entitled by the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), Formula 4 is a brand new, cost-effective single–seater series designed to introduce up and coming young racing drivers to the 'slicks and wings' environment of senior level competition. "The 185 bhp Formula 4 car incorporates many of the technical characteristics of the cars these young drivers will have to master as they progress through their careers, and I'm sure we shall see the drivers at the front of Formula 4 get towards Formula 1," said Jonathan Palmer.

Pointing the way to what promises to be a flourishing and competitive new championship, the winning honours in the first three races were shared between Matt Bell, Jack Barlow and Jake Dalton. Consistent performances in all three races - where he finished on the podium on each occasion – rewarded Seb Morris with a narrow two point lead (70 to 68) ahead of Dalton in the championship as the competitors head for the next Formula 4 rounds on the DTM event card at Brands Hatch on May 18th/19th.

In 1950, almost half a century before many of the Formula 4 drivers were even born, Silverstone circuit was the iconic venue for the first ever round of the Formula 1 World Driver's Championship. Since that seminal event – won by Giuseppi 'Nino' Farina in an Alfa Romeo – Silverstone has always been the spiritual home of the British Grand, despite the event migrating on a handful of occasions over the years to Aintree and Brands Hatch. Doubtless, many of the debut contestants in Formula 4 will have felt Silverstone's hand of history on their shoulder on April 27th, 2013.

A dedicated 1 hour recorded programme will be televised on ITV 4 on the Sunday following every BRDC Formula 4 race weekend. Complete race reports and comprehensive information on the championship can be viewed at www.formula4.com

Comma is Technical Partner to the BRDC F4 Championship. Comma supplies every team in the BRDC F4 Championship with the lubricants and chemicals they need to compete; Comma is appointed to do so by MotorSport Vision, one of the world's leading operators and promoters of motorsport.