Formula 4 machinery takes over the junior single-seater spotlight this weekend, with continued action in British F4, NACAM F4, AU4 and the Kyojo Cup as well as the first round of Indian F4 on the schedule.

By Feeder Series

In the peak of the summer break for F1, F2 and F3, other series are getting a chance to shine. While last weekend, that meant an opportunity for the IndyCar support series to run together for the final time this year, this weekend, the attention turns to several F4-level series in which the title fights are just taking shape.

British F4 is the big-ticket series on the list, and it makes its only trip to Scotland this year with a round at Knockhill. Also carrying the F4 branding is NACAM F4, which races on the full-length version of the Autodrómo Hermanos Rodríguez for the first time this year after running the shorter layout twice before. The F4-spec Kyojo Cup in Japan and AU4 in Australia each hold their third rounds at Fuji and Phillip Island respectively. Read on to find out more about each one.

Outside of those, Indian F4 also holds its first race weekend of 2025 at Kari Motor Speedway, supporting its parent championship, the Indian Racing League. Because of the absence of a globally accessible stream, however, Indian F4 will not be covered in detail in our weekly previews and reviews. You can instead read our season guide linked here to learn about the competitors this year and find out how else you can keep up with it.

From the press: The driver who dominated Indian F4’s opening rounds last year was Hugh Barter, who had raced in F3 in 2023 before budget issues curtailed his campaign. At the London E-Prix a couple weeks ago, we spoke to him about where he’s been since then, including his Formula E test last month with Lola Yamaha Abt. Read the interview here.

1. British F4: Round 7, Knockhill
2. F4 NACAM: Round 4, Mexico City
3. AU4: Round 3, Phillip Island
4. Kyojo Cup: Round 3, Fuji

British F4: Round 7, Knockhill

Circuit: Knockhill Racing Circuit, 2.039 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+1)

Friday 15 August

• 10:20–11:05: Practice 1
• 14:30–15:15: Practice 2

Saturday 16 August

• 09:00–09:25: Qualifying
• 13:40–14:00: Race 1

Sunday 17 August

• 10:35–10:55: Race 2
• 15:55–16:20: Race 3

How to follow: Races two and three will be broadcast live for UK viewers on ITV and ITVX, in the US and Canada on the Racer+ app, and globally (excluding the UK and North America) on the British F4 YouTube channel. Live timing for all sessions can be found on TSL Timing. 

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Friday and Saturday, with more sunshine expected Sunday.

What to know: Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin arrives at Knockhill with his largest points margin over championship rival Martin Molnár, but the battle for the title remains close, with just 28.5 points separating the pair with three rounds to go. 

While discussions around the title battle have centred on McLaughlin and Molnár, Rodin Motorsport’s Jimmy Piszcyk has quietly returned to the fringes of championship contention. Piszcyk nearly halved the gap to second in the championship at Zandvoort and currently sits 46.5 points behind McLaughlin. One tough race for the top two could be all the Australian needs for a shot at the title again.

Challenge Cup points leader Tommy Harfield recently announced that this would be his final round, having failed to raise enough budget to finish the season. The Chris Dittmann Racing currently holds a 66-point lead over Ella Lloyd, but Lloyd will have an extra 65 points available in Silverstone.

Having taken part in the Zandvoort round ahead of F1 Academy’s visit to the circuit in two weeks’ time, Chloe Chong, Nina Gademan, and Emma Felbermayr all depart the series. Also not competing this weekend are Oleksandr Savinkov, Thomas Ingram Hill, Esmee Kosterman and Charlie Edge, each of whom were only entered for partial campaigns. 

Taking over the fourth Hitech car, previously raced by Leo Robinson and Gademan, for the rest of the season is Joseph Smith. Having finished second in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series last November, Smith currently sits sixth in the Ginetta Junior Championship, with four podiums to his name. He will be stepping away from the championship with two rounds to go.

Guy Albag returns to Rodin for his first championship round of the season after making his British F4 debut at the British Grand Prix non-points event. Albag currently competes full-time in the Italian F4 championship and sits 35th in the standings. 

Finally, Haarni Sadiq will make his single-seater debut with JHR Developments this weekend. Despite having begun his competitive karting career only two years ago, Sadiq has taken part in an extensive testing programme ahead of his maiden F4 outing, helping compensate for his limited experience.

Report by Gavin Guthrie

Read the previous round’s report here.

F4 NACAM: Round 4, Mexico City

Circuit: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, 4.304 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−6)

Friday August 15

• 8:45–9:15: Practice 1
• 11:35–12:05: Practice 2
• 13:30–13:50: Qualifying
• 15:45–16:15: Race 1

Saturday August 16

• 8:45–9:15: Race 2
• 16:20–16:50: Race 3

How to follow: Live timing is usually available on Race Monitor. Races two and three will be streamed on the series’ YouTube channel. 

Weather forecast: Cloudy all weekend with a high chance of rain both Friday and Saturday.

What to know: F4 NACAM comes to its fourth round this weekend in Mexico City, the third round held there this season.

Unlike previous rounds, this round will use the full-length layout of the circuit also used in the Mexico City Grand Prix. Zaky Ibrahim leads the championship despite having his worst weekend of the season last round. He has an almost 50-point lead over Fernando Luque, who was one of the race winners in round three along with Ibrahim and Elías Vignola.

Joining the grid for the first time is Vivek Kanthan. The 16-year-old currently races in Spanish F4, in which he sits ninth in the standings. Earlier in the year, he won the rookie title in the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship. He will be racing with Alessandros Racing, taking the seat previously occupied by Axel Matus and Alex Popow earlier this year.

Kart racer Fernando Rivera is also expected to join the grid this weekend with RAM Racing Team. He has been participating in test sessions with the team, but this weekend is set to be the first time he will also participate in the races.

Report by Laura Anequini

Read the previous round’s report here.

AU4: Round 3, Phillip Island

Circuit: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, 4.448 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+10)

Saturday 16 August

• 9:45–10:45: Practice 1
• 12:10–13:10: Practice 2
• 14:40–14:55: Qualifying 1
• 15:00–15:15: Qualifying 2
• 16:25–16:52: Race 1

Sunday 17 August

• 10:50–11:17: Race 2
• 13:10–13:37: Race 3

How to follow: Live streams of the races are available on YouTube on both Blend Line TV’s channel with English commentary and Motorsport Television Deutschland’s channel with German commentary. Live timing will be available on NatSoft.

Weather forecast: Clouds and showers throughout the weekend, with the possibility of hail on Saturday. Windy throughout.

What to know: The AU4 Championship moves to the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit for its third round of the season. Isaac McNeill holds on to his lead of the Gen2 championship with 127 points following two race wins at The Bend. Noah Killion sits 26 points behind, his round two win giving him a three-point edge over Harrison Duske, though the rest of his round was marred by penalties.

Jensen Marold will aim to continue his run of victories in the Gen1 class after a successful outing at The Bend. He remains the championship leader with 160 points, 52 ahead of his teammate Koby Wilson, who finished second in all three races at round two. Andrew Fitzpatrick holds on to third position with 87 points after taking two podium finishes in round two. 

Lawrence Katsidis retains his lead in the Masters class with 30 points, ahead of Nicholas Filipetto on 20.

Report by Anabelle Bremner

Read the previous round’s report here.

Kyojo Cup: Round 3, Fuji

Circuit: Fuji Speedway, 4.563 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+9)

Friday 15 August

• 11:20–11:50: Free practice 1
• 13:15–13:30: Free practice 2
• 15:00–15:30: Free practice 3

Saturday 16 August

• 9:25–9:45: Qualifying
• 14:30–15:00: Sprint race

Sunday 17 August

• 14:15–14:50: Final race

How to follow: Qualifying and both races are live-streamed for free with Japanese and English commentary on the Inter Proto Series x Kyojo Cup YouTube channel. Japanese TV channel J Sports likewise broadcasts all races.

Weather forecast: Cloudy all weekend, with rain possible Friday and Saturday night. 

What to know: The Kyojo Cup enters its third round of the season at Fuji this weekend. Rio Shimono of Team Impul with Dr.Dry leads the championship on 52 points, but her disappointing second round, in which she took two third-place finishes, helped closest rival Miki Onaga of Team KCMG catch up in the championship fight. Having taken a second-place finish in the sprint race and a win in the final race, Onaga is now level with her rival in the standings.

Post-weekend, Hachiro Osaka, who also competes for Dr.Dry in Japanese F4, revealed that Shimono suffered from engine issues. Those issues weren’t solved in time for the in-season test last week, in which the series ran without the hybrid system on all its KCMG-01 cars. The championship announced Thursday night that the hybrid system would remain inactive this weekend ‘in order to bring vehicle performance closer to equal conditions’.

There is just one driver change for this weekend’s round. Finnish driver Flame Airikkala enters her first round of the season with Team KCMG, replacing Reina Amaya. Airikkala was announced to be racing for KCMG ahead of the season, but she missed the opening two rounds because of clashes with exams. The 18-year-old also made her GB4 debut last month.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Read the previous round’s report here.

All times and forecasts listed above are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, follow each series’ websites or social media pages.

Header photo credit: Stanley Deslandes