With six rounds, eight different winners, dominance by Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport and battling until the very last corner, the 2023 F4 US Championship delivered action in the Ligier JS F4 chassis’ final season. Feeder Series reviews the standout moments of each round in a season to remember for the championship.  

By Laura Anequini

Patrick Woods-Toth’s supreme consistency earned him the F4 US title with two races to spare. The 20-year-old Canadian, a graduate of the Radford Racing School F4 US scholarship programme, took four wins and 10 additional podiums from 18 races in the championship, finishing outside the top five on only one occasion. But behind him, victories were defined by thrilling comebacks and decided by post-race penalties as several smaller teams got their turns in the limelight.

Round 1: NOLA

The 2023 season began at NOLA Motorsport Park, and Velocity Racing Development’s Jimmie Lockhart proved to be the driver to beat in a cameo appearance for both driver and team. Jay Howard Driver Development’s Michael Costello earned his first career pole with a lap time of a 1:41.917, but he sustained damage on the opening lap of race one and fell down the order.

In his stead, Daniel Cará climbed to the lead for several laps before an off on lap five dropped him down to sixth. Carl Bennett, who qualified third, survived the chaos and went on to finish first after taking the lead from Frankie Mossman via an overtake on lap nine. Woods-Toth and Titus Sherlock completed the podium.

Leading from start to finish, Lockhart won race two on Sunday morning. A long caution period for an opening-lap accident between Christopher Parrish and Logan Adams delayed the action, but when it finally got underway with nine minutes to go there was plenty of excitement behind Lockhart and second-place finisher Jesse Lacey.

Lockhart continued his dominance in race three, securing a second consecutive victory after a fast start propelled him from fourth on the grid to first by the end of lap two. The battle for second intensified between polesitter Costello and Lewis Hodgson, but Woods-Toth ultimately overtook Hodgson at turn three with seven minutes to go and ended up third.

Round 2: Road America

Carl Bennett topped a Friday practice interrupted by red flags and limited running. Lacey secured his first career pole on Saturday and set a new track record for F4 cars at the circuit, but from second on the grid, Woods-Toth executed a clean start and pulled alongside Lacey down the front stretch before overtaking him for the lead into turn one. Frankie Mossman fell back during the opening lap but secured third place after making a move on Alex Berg in turn five.

In race two, Mossman crossed the finish line first, but the stewards gave him a 10-second penalty for a false start, which dropped him to 10th. This decision awarded Costello his first F4 US win, with Woods-Toth securing second and Lacey third.

Woods-Toth ended the weekend by securing a second win in race three. He held the lead at the start as Mossman and Lacey fought for second. An off for several cars at turn 12 on lap three resulted in a yellow flag, and when the race resumed, and Mossman made a strategic move on Lacey in turn 12 on the restart lap to secure second place.

Because more than half of races two and three were completed behind the safety car, half points were awarded for each. In total, there were only five full laps of green-flag racing that weekend as two drivers received suspensions and driving standards became a major talking point in the paddock.

Round 3: Mid-Ohio

Heavy rain in Ohio led to the cancellation of qualifying as storms affected the American Midwest all weekend. The starting line-up for race one was decided by the championship standings, meaning Woods-Toth was to start from pole. A rain shower on the formation lap, however, led to a mandatory switch to rain tyres for all teams and a two-by-two rolling start.

On that start, Costello made up ground from third position, passing Lacey and entering turn 1 side by side with Woods-Toth. Costello completed the pass, taking over the top spot before reaching the Keyhole. He maintained his lead despite intense competition, crossing the line first ahead of Alex Berg in second and Lewis Hodgson in a new chassis in third.

Race two marked the first win for both Soto-Schirripa and International Motorsport. The Floridian overtook Costello into the first corner and led the race from there as the JHDD driver and Woods-Toth secured second and third respectively.

The final race at Mid-Ohio provided a thrilling conclusion to the round, with Woods-Toth claiming another win. A full-course yellow brought the field closer together, and after the restart, Woods-Toth passed Soto-Schirripa into turn four on the penultimate lap to take the lead, which he held until the chequered flag. Soto-Schirripa finished second, followed by Hodgson in third in what turned out to be the Australian’s final F4 US race.

Round 4: New Jersey

Race one brought Crosslink Kiwi driver Titus Sherlock his first victory, though he crossed the line third. Alex Berg had initially taken his first career F4 US victory before earning a 30-second time penalty for causing a collision with polesitter Lacey at turn three on lap six. Woods-Toth, who crossed the line second, also earned a 10-second penalty for failing to leave enough room for Costello, which elevated Sherlock from third to first. Cará took home his maiden podium in second, as did Bacon Zelenka in third, marking a significant milestone for two of the series’ smallest outfits and a rare podium featuring two drivers from family teams.

Costello dominated race two from pole and secured his third career win after a perfect start. Woods-Toth finished second and Cará third, though the pair touched while battling in the closing laps and the Brazilian-American sustained front wing damage.

To end the weekend, Berg secured his first official win after a year and a half in the series.  Starting from pole for the final race, the Canadian driver held the lead at the first start but lost it to Cará on the restart after an early red flag for an incident between Adams and Kekai Hauanio. Berg then regained the lead a few corners later and held the position to the end, with Sherlock and Woods-Toth rounding out the podium.

Round 5: VIR

Round five started with the championship contenders fighting for pole. Costello, with a lap of 1:57.134 seconds, was the one who secured the spot, with Woods-Toth 0.419s behind him. Wet track conditions and heavy spray made race one difficult, and while Costello held the lead at the start, he lost it to Soto-Schirripa at the restart on lap five when he went wide at turn one.

Following the restart, there was battling throughout the field – including intense side-by-side racing between Berg, Sherlock and Luciano Martinez – and a number of spins and position changes. The second full-course caution froze the order, and Soto-Schirripa emerged victorious, with Berg in second and Woods-Toth claiming the final podium position in third.

Soto-Schirripa’s success did not end there. Starting sixth on the grid for race two, he gained two positions on the opening lap and further advanced to third by lap two. Meanwhile, championship leader Woods-Toth began the race in second but passed polesitter Luciano Martinez into turn three. For nearly half the race’s duration, he had to defend from Berg and Soto-Schirripa close behind – that was, of course, until Berg’s attempt to pass for the lead resulted in a race-ending spin for the Canadian in turn one. With Berg out of the picture, Soto-Schirripa closed the gap to Woods-Toth and made a decisive pass on the final lap in the Roller Coaster complex to claim his second victory of the day from Woods-Toth and Cará. 

For the final race of the weekend, it was Lacey who led the pack from start to finish. While the Australian got a clean getaway, Woods-Toth, Costello, Berg and Hauanio all fought for second in a turbulent battle. From eighth on the grid, Hauanio came home second, with Woods-Toth third.

The Canadian driver left VIR with a 66.5-point advantage over Sherlock and Costello, who were tied for second, with just 75 more on offer in the final round.

Round 6: Circuit of The Americas

Sherlock secured a decisive pole at the Circuit of The Americas, with Woods-Toth fourth and Costello 13th, and the Crosslink Kiwi driver took his second win of the season the following day. But all eyes were on Woods-Toth, who needed only nine points to become the 2023 F4 US champion.

On the first lap, he overtook Soto-Schirripa for third before the race was neutralised, and on the restart lap he overtook Cará for second in turn 12. In the final minutes of the race, Woods-Toth was overtaken by Soto-Schirripa, who gained back two positions as the race progressed, but third in race one was enough to secure the 20-year-old the championship.

Soto-Schirripa won race two after overtaking his teammate, one-off entrant Ariel Elkin of Italian F4, in turn 15 on the penultimate lap of the race. Sherlock’s fifth-place finish secured him second in the standings as disaster struck Costello, who retired from the race and recorded his fourth non-score in five races.

Race three saw early drama as Sherlock was unable to assume pole position because of a mechanical issue. Cará led the field at the rolling start, while Soto-Schirripa incredibly rose from 22nd to eighth before the safety car came out at the end of the opening lap. Woods-Toth held the lead at the restart as Soto-Schirripa continued to climb through the field, making it as high as third behind Woods-Toth and Lacey.

In a thrilling final lap, Lacey made a move down the inside of Woods-Toth at turn 11, but the Canadian fought back and reclaimed the position into turn 12 after running side by side with his teammate down the back straight. Lacey then took back the lead into the following corner and looked to have the win secured – until the final corner.

All of the top three ran wide at turn 20, but Woods-Toth’s line was the widest and thus the fastest. The champion defeated his teammate by just 0.017 seconds and Soto-Schirripa by 0.284 seconds – one of the smallest winning margins in F4 history and a barnstorming conclusion to the Ligier JS F4’s eight-year run as the series chassis.

Header photo credit: Gavin Baker