One driver stood out from the rest of the GB4 field in 2023: Tom Mills. Driving for his family-run KMR Sport team, Mills was the only competitor to return to GB4 after its inaugural season in 2022, and ten victories and another three podium finishes meant he secured the title before the season finale. But beneath his domination was a field of 24 other drivers, all of whom impressed in their own rights. Here are their stories.

By George Brabner

Ironically, Mills didn’t open the season with a victory. It was his Floridian teammate Jeremy Fairbairn who shined in race one at Oulton Park. Moving to GB4 after a mixed season in USF Juniors, Fairbairn appeared to acclimatise quickly to the Tatuus T014, and he impressively held off Mills in a dramatic race-long scrap for the first win of the year.

His surprise performance raised question marks over whether or not Mills would be able to continue the string of frontrunning results he had scored in late 2022, but it wasn’t long until the Briton put a stop to any doubts. He took to the top of the podium just one race later, and from that moment on, his GB4 campaign became something of a dream. Pole positions, victories, or at a minimum podium finishes became the expectation, and he rarely wavered from dominant form. 

Beneath the surface, Mills’ 2023 was much rockier. He only competed on a race-by-race basis early in the season because of budget constraints. The prospect of withdrawing from the championship always loomed, and the pressure to perform was permanently on. However, his name became a constant at the top of the session results sheet, and he quickly separated himself from the rest of the field after the season opener.

Battle for the best of the rest

The chasing gaggle of rookies could do little to topple the mighty Mills, but the likes of Liam McNeilly, Cooper Webster and Colin Queen impressed outside of the championship spotlight.

McNeilly started 2023 in style, taking victory in reversed-grid race three at Oulton Park from ninth on the grid. He left round one second in the championship with two podiums to his name. That weekend proved not only his potential in an F4 car but also that of his team Fox Motorsport, too, which simultaneously made its first foray into single-seater racing.

However, teething issues were on the horizon, and round two at Silverstone in May yielded just one top-five finish for the Essex-based outfit. McNeilly would have to wait until GB4’s return to Silverstone in July to score another podium, which meant that a string of seven top-three finishes in the final rounds of 2023 wasn’t enough for McNeilly to take second in the standings.

How eventual second-place finisher Webster, a proven winner in Australian S5000, would perform was one of the greatest unknowns coming into the season. He was experienced but had never raced in the UK, nor had his team – Evans GP – ever operated F4 cars, yet he found his stride quickly after a phase of inconsistency during the first two rounds of the year. 

Four second-place finishes at Donington Park and a pair of wins at Snetterton underlined the progress he and Evans GP had made since the winter before a largely faultless weekend at Brands Hatch kept him comfortably ahead of McNeilly as the season reached its twilight. A clean sweep at the finale where he scored three successive victories secured him the runner-up position.

Queen, the 2022 Formula Ford scholarship winner, completed the breakaway trio that was closest to Mills. Whilst McNeilly and Webster both had low points early in the season, Queen was a consistent podium finisher between Oulton Park and Snetterton, and his first single-seater victory looked close. However, the American was never able to make the final step toward the front, and a tough weekend at Brands Hatch meant he finished the season 40 points behind McNeilly. 

Despite obvious issues within Fortec Motorsport that hampered him in the final stanza of 2023, Queen has since secured his future with a deal to race in GB3 with the Daventry-based team.

The midfield fight 

The 2023 GB4 field was often split into noticeable segments. Mills led the way but had Webster, McNeilly and Queen closing in on him, whilst Aditya Kulkarni, Harry Burgoyne Jr, Jack Clifford and Sid Smith regularly populated many of the remaining positions in the top ten.

Fortec’s Kulkarni took fifth in the standings at the season’s close, beating out Graham Brunton Racing’s Burgoyne on countback. The young Indian driver’s pace went through phases of peaks and troughs, but when opportunities arose to score big, he always took them. 

Podiums in race three at Donington Park, Snetterton and Brands Hatch swung the championship standings in Kulkarni’s favour compared to Burgoyone, who took five top-five finishes but no silverware in 2023. The convergence of the two drivers’ points tallies, despite their diverging results patterns, was a fitting conclusion, as both took huge strides forward in their first seasons in single-seater racing.

Fifty points behind Burgoyne and Kulkarni by the time the chequered flag fell for the final time was Clifford, who had a season of ups and downs as one of Mills’ three teammates at KMR Sport in 2023. Flashes of pace at Silverstone in July and Donington Park in October showed what he was capable of, but the results didn’t always materialise. 

Closely matched with Clifford in the final standings was Smith, who had the potential for a much better year. The Ginetta Junior Championship graduate’s weekends rarely all came together. His progression toward the top five was obvious as he and Fox Motorsport found their footing, but just as with Clifford, Smith’s final finishing positions didn’t always tell the same story despite the fact he often matched Burgoyne and Kulkarni.

Whilst the four full-time drivers battled away, taking points away from all of them in the latter stages of the season was Zack Ping. A budding talent from VRD’s trans-Atlantic operation and the younger brother of GB3 driver Noah Ping, the American only raced from round five onwards but took two fourth-place finishes during his short campaign. Feeder Series understands that he will race in GB4 next season and thus is expected to be a critical part of 2024’s leading pack.

Lost stars

Multiple drivers were not able to complete full campaigns in GB4 for financial reasons despite the championship’s position as a budget F4 series. By the season’s close, the midfield battle was far less populated than it was at Oulton Park.

Race winner and regular top-five finisher Fairbairn made a surprise departure from KMR Sport for Graham Brunton Racing after round three, but he only raced with the Scottish outfit for one weekend. Ending his season at Snetterton, he opted to spend the rest of 2023 racing in national Formula Ford championships and eyes a return to slicks-and-wings single-seaters in 2024.

After Fairbairn vacated KMR Sport’s third car, Lucas Blakeley sporadically completed the team’s roster. The reigning F1 Esports champion took an emotional third place at the season finale and secured another two top-five finishes on the same weekend after a shock entry, but his funding is extremely slim. He proved that the jump from virtual racing to reality is feasible, but Feeder Series understands that he won’t be racing full-time next year.

Meanwhile, Harri Reynolds’ season came to a halt after GB4’s first visit to Donington Park in May. Despite his victory at Silverstone, podium at Oulton Park and competitive championship position early in the year, budget constraints caused the Welshman’s exit, and he is unlikely to return to single-seater racing in 2024. 

Fortec’s Ruhaan Alva, who started the season with just one day of testing under his belt, was in the same situation in September and left the UK for a sponsored drive in the Indian Racing League with God Speed Kochi. Having shown strong progression toward the top five in GB4, he is keen to return to the UK or mainland Europe in the new year.

The future

Twenty-five drivers entered at least one round in 2023, whilst nine completed the full season. British F4 drivers Josh Irfan and Kai Daryanani dropped in and out of GB4, which they both did successfully despite their lack of seat time, whilst Oldfield Motorsport’s Jason Conzo and VRD’s Erik Evans were only one-off entries. However, the last round of 2023 saw four drivers make their debuts. 

Fortec Motorsport’s Dan Hickey had a tough outing at Donington Park, retiring from races one and two before finishing tenth in reversed-grid race three. With a background in business, the Briton does not have the same on-track experience as many other prospective drivers, but extensive in-season and winter testing programmes with Fortec aim to help bring him up to speed. Feeder Series understands that he will be continuing with the outfit next season.

Meanwhile, Elite Motorsport’s fresh faces impressed at the finale. Finn Harrison took a best finish of fourth in race two, whilst Theo Micouris secured a pair of sixth places. Harrison’s future in GB4 has already been secured, and he will compete full-time with the team in 2024, but Micouris’ plans are undecided. The reigning Radical Cup UK champion aims to race in GB4, but budget constraints leave that goal up in the air.

Privateer Lexie Belk was the final Donington Park debutant, running as part of the Dylan Hotchin Racing operation. She struggled for pace and didn’t finish within the top ten but aims to race full-time in 2024, as does Dylan Hotchin, who is widely expected to continue in GB4 after taking his first steps in single-seater machinery this season.

Graduation

Whilst Hickey, Hotchin, Belk and Micouris all aim to race again in GB4 next season, the ultimate goal for the 2023 front-runners is a seat in an F3 regional series, such as GB3.

As he explained to Feeder Series at Brands Hatch, Mills does not have the budget to continue on the single-seater ladder, but McNeilly has tested the Tatuus MSV-022 car with Douglas Motorsport and Rodin Carlin since the GB4 season concluded. Queen has already had a GB3 drive announced, and Webster will move with Evans GP into Eurocup-3 as the team sells its Tatuus F4 T014 cars, one of which has been bought by new-for-2024 entrants Idola Motorsport.

Irfan, who competed with Elite Motorsport in round one, round three and round six alongside a British F4 drive with Rodin Carlin, is also understood by Feeder Series to be aiming for a GB3 seat. The Briton has already tested with Chris Dittmann Racing, Rodin Carlin, JHR Developments and Elite Motorsport during the winter break in both the UK and mainland Europe.

Header photo credit: Artie C Photo