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Chiara Bättig produced a composed and increasingly competitive performance on her first visit to Thruxton, securing two top-10 finishes in the latest British F4 Championship round. The Hitech driver also preserved her perfect finishing record, underlining the consistency behind her first season in single-seater racing.
At the halfway point of the campaign, Bättig was one of only seven drivers to have completed every lap. Her pace was evident before racing began: during the late-June in-season test, her best lap of 1:12.054 placed her 10th, only three tenths behind Joseph Smith. She then carried that momentum into Friday practice, where a 1:11.455 put her fourth and less than a tenth away from Dries van Langendonck’s benchmark.
Qualifying was more tightly contested. Bättig improved to 1:12.068 on her final run, but the time left her 14th on the grid. She missed pole by a quarter of a second and was just over half a tenth short of reverse-grid pole, illustrating the narrow margins at the front of the field.
Starting 17th for race one, Bättig made progress during a chaotic contest interrupted by two red flags. She climbed to 15th on the opening lap and managed the close midfield battles before the race was stopped for a second time. After the results were counted back one lap, she was classified 14th.
Race two brought a stronger result. From 14th, Bättig moved into 13th before negotiating an incident at the final corner without damage. Another safety-car period followed, and the race again ended before a full restart was possible. Initially classified 11th, she was promoted to eighth after three post-race penalties for rivals, collecting seven championship points.
That ability to stay clear of trouble proved decisive, where the demands of junior single-seater racing again placed a premium on qualifying position and race execution.
Bättig began the final race 13th after a grid penalty for Scott Kin Lindblom was applied. She gained one place on the opening lap, then held station through two safety-car interventions. With the race restarted on lap 15, she overtook Adam Al Azhari one lap later.
Late incidents involving Jarrett Clark and George Proudford Nalder promoted Bättig to ninth at the finish. The result completed a valuable Thruxton weekend: two top-10 finishes, seven points and further evidence that the Swiss racer can combine speed with disciplined racecraft at the sharp end of the field.
Bättig now turns her attention to the next British F4 round at Donington Park on 22nd/23rd August.
Ciara is a Dublin native, award-winning film producer, podcaster and writer with 20 years of storytelling experience. A lifelong Leinster and Ireland rugby fan, she turned her attention to the grid after moving to Berlin and co-founding Formula Live Pulse. Now, she applies her producer’s brain to Formula 1, navigating the highs of Oscar Piastri’s rise and the unique stress of being an adopted Ferrari fan. She loves talking and talking about F1, if you give her the chance!
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