15th October 2019
The curtain fell on Louis Foster’s debut season in single-seaters this past weekend at Brands Hatch, as the BRDC Rising Star finished the year 3rd in the British F4 Drivers’ Championship.
Getting the final weekend of the 2019 British F4 Championship underway on Friday with two practice sessions, Louis got up to speed with the 2.4-mile Brands Hatch GP circuit in drizzly conditions. Finishing the day with the third fastest time, Louis headed into Saturday morning’s qualifying session looking to continue his quick start to the weekend.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session took place in damp conditions on the wet weather tyres. Continuing his fine qualifying form, Louis secured two front-row starts as he qualified in second place for races one and three at Brands Hatch – missing out on pole position by just a tenth of a second.
Louis’ qualifying result also put him at the front of fellow title contenders, with Maloney and Alvarez both behind him for races one and three.
Race One
Lining the grid from the front row, Louis’ race and title hopes were unfortunately over by the end of turn one. Getting a good start off the line, Louis was able to pass Alex Connor and make his way into the lead of the race.
However, Maloney from the row behind also got a strong start and the pair ran side by side through Paddock Hill Bend. Slight contact was made between the two title rivals and, unfortunately, it was Louis who came out worse, spinning out into the gravel – resulting in a DNF.
This result unfortunately meant that Louis fell out of contention for the championship title.
Race Two
The Copart-sponsored driver was forced to start the second race of the weekend from the final place on the grid due to his race one DNF.
Bouncing back from his earlier disappointment, Louis got a sublime start in Saturday’s second race as he flew off the line in wet conditions, overtaking five cars on the opening lap to move himself into 8th place.
The Lord Wandsworth College pupil made another position a lap later and was then in a fantastic battle with ex-title rival, Josh Skelton, until Louis finally passed the JHR driver at Clearways to move himself into sixth.
On his way to the chequered flag, Louis posted three consecutive fastest laps of the race before he crossed the line to pick up more championship points.
Race Three
The final race of the season saw Louis line the grid from the front row and the Double R racer got arguably his best start of the season as he breezed past Connor into the lead of the race.
Racing on the wet weather tyres with a wet setup in drying conditions, Louis’ grip began to worsen as his treaded tyres started to melt with no water to keep them cool.
Louis’ attention turned to his mirrors as Maloney began to pressurise him for the lead. Keeping the Carlin driver at bay with some brilliant defensive driving, Louis eventually ran out of grip in his tyres and made a slight mistake on lap five as he ran a little wide on the exit of Hawthorns – falling down the order to 6th.
Keeping his car on the tarmac for the remainder of the race, Louis crossed the finishing line in 6th place to bring an end to his maiden year in single-seaters.
“It’s been a fantastic year and I’m really proud to end the season 3rd in the standings. I would have liked to have ended the year with another trip to the podium, especially after qualifying, but it just wasn’t to be this weekend.
A massive thank you must go to everyone at Double R Racing for giving me the best car – Connor and I worked tirelessly all year trying to find the sweet spot. Also, a big thank you to Lucas for being a mega mechanic. Thank you to my sponsors: Copart, Vansdirect, HRSP Ignition, Butlers Race Car Finance and Key Currency for allowing me to follow my dream.”
“Thank you to everyone at MB Partners for helping out with literally everything – and giving me guidance when times were tough. 2019 has been a fantastic year and I can’t wait to get going again!”
Finishing the season third in the Drivers’ Championship, Louis’ impressive campaign saw the youngster end the year with 353 points registering six wins, twelve podiums, six pole positions and nine fastest laps – also finishing as the highest ranked British driver in the championship.