After 21 races, six different race circuits and endless laps battling for the Championship, the conclusion of the 2022 GB3 and GB4 Championships are only a matter of weeks away. Before the series’ travel to Donington Park for the second time this season, they each had three races to complete at Brands Hatch. F1 Feeder Series brings you the three biggest takeaways from the weekend.

By Richard Smyth

With one round to go in the GB3 and GB4 seasons it was all to play for in Round 7 at Donington Park.

Browning is pole position to claim GB3 title

Joel Granfors and Luke Browning were expected to renew their close fought title battle as GB3 headed to Brands Hatch for the penultimate weekend of the season. However, neither driver was able to claim a race victory as Matthew Rees, Tom Lebbon and Brandon Oxley took the top honours over the weekend. 

Despite this, Browning was able to regain the lead of the Championship by 16.5 points after two second-place finishes, with Granfors only being able to claim one podium, with a fourth and 19^th place finish. Browning finished ninth in the reverse grid race on Sunday afternoon. 

Small grids don’t always equal boring races

The GB4 Championship has only race with a small grid this season, with the season opening with twelve drivers, but only nine lining up on the starting grid last time out at Brands Hatch. 

However, this weekend saw some of the best racing in this debut season of the series, right when battles for various Championship spots are going down to the wire. 

In the opening race, Championship leader Nikolas Taylor crashed on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend and Druids when the rain started to fall, bringing out the safety car. 

Jarod Waberski, Tom Mills and Jack Sherwood were the clear favourites to battle for the race win, but a brave move from Mills on the outside of Hawthorns with only a lap to go was enough to claim his maiden victory. 

Risks being taken as title battle heats up

You can tell the season is coming to a close with drivers now taking more risks than ever before to better their place in the driver standings. This goes for both GB3 and GB4, but it was the more senior Championship that saw a red flag being brought out with only half a lap completed.

Realistically, Nikolas Taylor is expected to claim the GB4 title, with the ever consistent Max Marzorati needing to claim his first win in the series to stand any chance of winning the Championship. 

In GB3 however, things are a lot closer with only 16.5 points separating the top two of Browning and Granfors. These two could very easily come to blows over the Donington Park weekend and it could be a battle of survival on track, rather than going for race wins.

Every driver will be pushing for victory, but whether Browning might just play the long game and just aim to finish higher than Granfors in each race rather than going for out and out race wins, that remains to be seen.

The GB3 and GB4 Championships conclude on October 15/16 when the series travels to Donignton Park in support of the British GT Championship.

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography