Super-sub Alba Larsen claimed her first British F4 podium finish of the season at the weekend, taking third place at the Dutch Grand Prix venue of Zandvoort.
Following her return to the team at Silverstone, the 17-year-old once again got behind the wheel of her Chris Dittmann Racing machine to gain valuable mileage ahead of her upcoming F1 Academy appearance at the circuit. She hit the ground running with an impressive performance in qualifying, where she was amongst the frontrunners with teammate Tommy Harfield.
In the opening race she was running on the fringes of the top ten before late contact while fighting for position dropped her down the order. She lined up on the second row for race two and proved her abilities, holding second place until the last lap in a contest that was interrupted by two Safety Car periods. Third place at the flag was a deserved reward for the young Dane, capping an impressive performance. A minor excursion while fighting for points in the final race was the only disappointment in an otherwise excellent weekend.
Henry Mercier had set some impressive times in testing on Thursday and was looking good after his first qualifying run when he was 11th fastest, until he had an unfortunate off that brought his session, and day, to an early end. After missing the opening race, he was looking to recover on Sunday but, mired in the second half of the pack, it was difficult to make progress around the twisty Zandvoort circuit. Daniella also showed determination to move forward through the field. She gained five places in race two before her weekend unfortunately ended with retirement after contact in the final event.
After finishing in the top three in testing, Tommy continued to show his speed all weekend long. Qualifying well, he finished the first race in a strong fifth place after hounding Ethan Carney in the second half of the contest. He made an excellent start to the second race, challenging for second place around the outside of turn one. The move put him on the inside of the banked Hugenholzbocht where space ran out and there was contact with the second placed car.
He recovered to finish ninth but was handed a three-place grid penalty for the last race. Unperturbed, he made up five places despite the Safety Car making another two appearances in the 25-minute event, to score a handful of points and continue his move up the championship table.
The series resumes in two weeks’ time, when it returns to the British Touring Car Championship package for rounds 16, 17 & 18 at Thruxton on the 25 & 26 July.
Chris Dittmann, Team Principal
“We’ve had mixed fortunes this weekend, but there have been plenty of positives to take away. We’ve shown we have the pace to fight at the front and it’s great to come away with a podium finish. There were a lot of Safety Cars, which made it difficult for anyone to really show what they could do, as the races became very stop-start.
“I’m really pleased for Alba. She’s been on it all weekend, qualifying well and racing hard. She made a few mistakes, but that’s all part of the learning process and exactly why she’s here. To see her come away with a podium finish in race two is a fantastic reward for all the hard work she’s put in.
“Henry was looking good in qualifying until his off, which was a bit bigger than we initially thought. That ruled him out of the first race and then left him in the pack, where it’s always difficult to make progress.
“Daniella made up a number of positions across the races, but unfortunately her weekend ended with a DNF after contact. Tommy was right up there in testing and showed strong pace throughout the weekend. He was perhaps a little over-ambitious in race two and should have been on the podium, but he saw an opportunity and went for it. I’d much rather see a young driver prepared to seize an opportunity than settle for less.
“We’ve all worked hard this weekend – drivers and team alike – so it’s great to head home with a trophy.”
