After a year of steady growth for the GB4 Championship in 2023, MSV’s affordable F4 series will be picking up where it left in 2024. A 14-car grid will take to Oulton Park for the first of seven UK-based rounds, although just like last year, it is expected to constantly evolve as the season continues. Here’s everything you need to know about GB4 in 2024.

By George Brabner

Jarrod Waberski was the only driver from GB4’s inaugural field to graduate to a higher tier of single-seaters the following season, which ultimately was a disappointing outcome from the championship’s first year in operation. 

This time, however, four drivers from the 2023 grid have already secured seats above F4 level: Cooper Webster will be racing in Eurocup-3 with Evans GP by Versa, Liam McNeilly is competing in USF2000 with Jay Howard Driver Development, whilst Colin Queen and Aditya Kulkarni will move up to GB3 with Fortec Motorsport and Hillspeed, respectively.

For the second consecutive year, the series’ reigning champion will be watching on from the sidelines due to budget constraints, but it’s clear that GB4 is starting to find its footing. In 2024, a field of 14 cars from eight teams will hit the track, among them some highly anticipated rookies, three female drivers and a second-year competitor with his eyes set firmly on the title.

The calendar

Whilst its senior series GB3 expands further into mainland Europe, GB4 will visit all of the same venues that it did last year, populating a seven-round UK-based calendar.

Key to keeping costs down, which is one of the championship’s central aims, GB4 will stay a national series and will support British GT at six of its seven events. It will only break away in July, where it will co-headline one round at Silverstone with GB3. The only changes to GB4’s calendar for 2024 lie in structure. Just like in GB3, the season finale will now take place at Brands Hatch rather than Donington Park and the championship will conclude three weeks earlier. Here is the full season calendar:

• Round 1: Oulton Park (29 March-1 April)
• Round 2: Silverstone Circuit (27-28 April)
• Round 3: Donington Park (25-26 May)
• Round 4: Snetterton Circuit (13-14 July)
• Round 5: Silverstone Circuit (27-28 July)
• Round 6: Donington Park (7-8 September)
• Round 7: Brands Hatch (28-29 September)

The format

Whilst GB4 sees minor changes to its calendar for 2024, its format will remain identical. Each round will commence with a 15-minute qualifying session on Saturday morning, where each driver’s fastest lap time will set the grid for race one. Their second-fastest times will decide the starting order for race two.

Races one and two will both be 18 minutes in length and will award the winning driver with 35 points. That number will slowly trickle down to one point for 20th place – the same as 2023. 

Race three will continue to break conventions with its grid being decided by the reverse of qualifying’s fastest lap times that fall within 103% of the pole lap. It will continue to be 18 minutes in length, just like races one and two. One point will be awarded for each position that a driver successfully climbs and the winner will only earn a reduced 20 points in the contest. 15th place will be the last points-paying position in race three.

The prizes

GB4 will offer multiple scholarship prizes in 2024. 

Firstly, the champion will receive a £50,000 contribution towards a GB3 or British F4 seat to bolster their progress up the single-seater ladder. This has been in place since the series was formed in 2022, although it is yet to have been utilised. 

Alongside that, the George Russell Pole Position Cup will return for 2024. It will award a total of £4,000 across the season, handing out £125 for each pole position that a driver scores as well as a £1,000 prize to the team and driver with the most poles in the year.

New for this year are also two new prizes. Thanks to GB3 and GB4’s new partnership with watch-maker Omologato, the driver who scores the most points in the first two races of each weekend will receive a “not-for-sale” timepiece. 

However, most importantly, GB4 will award the highest-placed female driver in the championship with a £30,000 contribution towards a 2025 F1 Academy drive. With multiple female drivers set to compete in GB4 this season, the series is becoming an even more attractive offer as it grows. 

Where to watch

Consistency continues into GB4’s broadcast plan for 2024. All three races from every round will be streamed live on MSV TV’s YouTube channel just like last year. Pre-weekend test sessions and qualifying won’t be streamed live, but you can follow the action in both through a live timing page.

Teams and drivers

KMR Sport

Having dominated the 2023 season with Mills, reigning teams’ champion KMR Sport is looking to continue their success into the new year with a competitive three-car lineup.

Harry Burgoyne (#68) is likely to lead KMR Sport in 2024 as the only driver to return to GB4 for a sophomore campaign. With 20 races of experience and the series’ strongest team on his side, the man who finished sixth in the standings last year has the title firmly in mind. He has already shown a clear step forward in pre-season testing, trading top spots with Alisha Palmowski at Oulton Park and Donington Park to secure himself as a championship favourite.

Joining Burgoyone at KMR Sport will be Chloe Grant (#66) and Brandon McCaughan (#89). 

Grant takes a step down from F1 Academy, where she finished 12th in the standings, to the series where she started her single-seater career in 2022. She is expected to be a top contender in the fight for the position of highest-placed female driver, which could earn her roughly a third of the funds needed to return to F1 Academy in 2025, if not the overall title. 

McCaughan enters GB4 having won the 2023 rendition of the championship’s Shootout for National Formula Ford contenders. The 20-year-old entered the competition for the second time last year having first driven a slicks and wings car during the event in 2022, finding success after a second full-time campaign in Formula Ford. Currently, the Irishman is only confirmed for the first two rounds of the year.

Fortec Motorsport

Renowned British single-seater outfit Fortec Motorsport will enter three cars at round one, running on the high of taking fourth and fifth position in the championship standings with Colin Queen and Aditya Kulkarni last year.

Linus Granfors (#16) is arguably their most exciting prospect. The Swede is the younger brother of 2022 GB3 runner-up Joel Granfors and he has already made shockwaves in the GB4 paddock, waltzing to the top of the timing pages by seven-tenths at Silverstone on his only day of pre-season testing. However, he will currently only be competing with Fortec at Oulton Park.

Dan Hickey (#17) and Jack Taylor (#50) will line up with Fortec for the entire season. 

Hickey has completed an extensive winter testing programme having also gained mileage during 2023 in private tests and a one-off appearance at the season finale. He does not have a background in motorsport but is working hard to push closer to the front.

Taylor also has minimal single-seater experience. He has only competed in Indian F4, where he finished eighth out of nine full-time drivers in 2023 with a best finish of fourth place. The Australian has moved across the world to compete in GB4, so expect a so slow start as he acclimatises to a new environment and the Tatuus F4-T014.

Fox Motorsport

The Fox Motorsport team only made their single-seater debut in GB4 12 months ago but instantly impressed, taking a win at round one with Liam McNeilly, who went on to finish third in the standings.

For 2024, they will field Megan Bruce (#9) and Branden Templeton (#24). 

Bruce is embarking on her second year in racing having not karted. She competed in the single-make Caterham Academy series last season, finishing tenth overall with one podium finish.

Templeton, meanwhile, will make his single-seater debut with Fox. He will be graduating to GB4 straight from the British karting scene, although he has tested frequently during the off-season with a myriad of teams.

Graham Brunton Racing

Having taken Burgoyne to sixth in the standings last year, Scottish outfit Graham Brunton Racing will enter two drivers at round one, both of whom are supported by the Road to Racing Canada programme. 

Callum Baxter (#45) will compete with the team full-time in 2024. He will make his slicks and wings debut at Oulton Park, although he is not new to single-seaters, having won F1600 Canada and taken second in the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship last season. Baxter has been testing throughout the winter, most notably finishing fourth on day one of official running at Silverstone, less than half of a second off the fastest lap set by Finn Harrison.

Baxter’s teammate for round one will be Mayer Deonarine (#44), who was awarded Road to Racing’s Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship, giving him the funding to make the jump to the UK. The Canadian will be looking to make an impact at Oulton Park to secure his future in GB4 as he debuts in F4 machinery.

Elite Motorsport

Elite Motorsport only entered GB4 sporadically last season as Harri Reynolds’ budget dried up and Josh Irfan prioritised British F4, but they have two full-time drivers for 2024 who are both expected to compete at the front.

Alisha Palmowski (#21) is a favourite for success having topped two days of running in pre-season testing. She finished fifth in the Ginetta Junior Championship with Elite last year, taking ten podiums and one pole position, which bodes well for her single-seater debut.

Alongside Palmowski will be Finn Harrison (#38), who also graduates from Ginetta Juniors. He finished fifth in the series in 2023 before making his GB4 debut at Donington Park in October, where he took a best finish of fourth. Harrison has already competed competitively this season, having joined Campos Racing for a full Formula Winter Series campaign, but he will be hoping to improve on the one point he scored in the championship.

Arden Racing

Arden Motorsport will enter GB4 for the first time in 2024 with Leon Wilson (#27). The Briton has been a part of Arden’s Young Racing Drivers Academy since the start of 2022 and has been testing F4 machinery with the squad for almost 18 months. Mileage across the UK and mainland Europe should make for a smoother transition to GB4, although Wilson has minimal prior racing experience.

Luzio.com

Luzio.com is GB4’s only privateer entry this season following Dylan Hotchin Racing’s decision to sell their two Tatuus F4-T014 cars at the start of 2024. 

Marcus Luzio (#11) will make his single-seater debut at Oulton Park after amassing multiple karting titles across his career so far. He will enter GB4 without any pre-season testing, which will make his hunt for success as a privateer even more difficult while he continues to kart in parallel.

Header photo credit: JEP