2015 BRDC Formula 4 Championship explained

The 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship^[1] was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across England. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers competing in 2-litre Duratec single seat race cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2015 season was the third BRDC Formula 4 Championship organised by the British Racing Drivers' Club in the United Kingdom. The season began at Oulton Park on 4 April and ended on 27 September at Brands Hatch, after eight triple header events for a total of twenty-four races.

Will Palmer, running for the HHC Motorsport team, was a comfortable champion in the series; he wrapped up the title with one event to spare.^[2] Having been a title contender in 2014, Palmer won exactly half of the races to be held in 2015 – a series-record twelve wins – and fifteen podiums in total saw him finish 137 points clear of the championship runner-up, team-mate Harrison Newey. Newey racked up eight podium finishes before he was able to take the first of two victories during the season, at Donington Park. He added a second win at Brands Hatch, taking a total of twelve podium finishes in 2015. Third place in the drivers' championship went to Chris Dittmann Racing driver Tom Jackson, who also won two races during the season – both coming at Snetterton.

Five other drivers won races during the season; Lanan Racing duo Rodrigo Fonseca (Rockingham and Silverstone) and Chris Mealin (Oulton Park and Rockingham) each won a pair of races, as did Jordan Albert of Sean Walkinshaw Racing, winning races at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. The remaining races were won by Jackson's team-mate Omar Ismail at Snetterton and Michael O'Brien, who won the partially reversed-grid race at Rockingham for MGR Motorsport. Of the 23 drivers eligible to score points towards the drivers' championship, 17 recorded at least one podium finish.

Teams and drivers

All teams were British-registered.

Team		Driver	Rounds
Douglas Motorsport	2	Akhil Rabindra^[3]	All
	24	Fernando Urrutia^[4]	All
HHC Motorsport	3	Will Palmer^[5]	All
	33	Harrison Newey^[6]	All
	37	Sisa Ngebulana^[7]	All
Chris Dittmann Racing	4	Omar Ismail^[8]	3–8
	11	Paul Sieljes^[9]	2
	12	Tom Jackson^[10]	All
	94	Michael O'Brien^[11]	4–5, 7
Hillspeed^[12]	7	Faisal Al Zubair	1–2, 4–6, 8
	17	Riki Christodoulou^[13]	3
	51	Ameya Vaidyanathan^[14]	All
	66	Sebastian Lanzetti	1–3
	77	Hernán Fallas^[15]	6–8
Lanan Racing	8	Jack Bartholomew^[16]	All
	9	Rodrigo Fonseca^[17]	All
	10	Chris Mealin^[18]	All
Lang Sport	14	Jack Lang^[19]	All
Sean Walkinshaw Racing	18	Zubair Hoque^[20]	All
	23	Jordan Albert^[21]	All
	32	Marc González^[22]	4
23 Racing^[23]	44	James Reveler	All
MGR Motorsport	77	Hernán Fallas^[24]	1–3
	94	Michael O'Brien^[25]	1–3
Graham Brunton Racing^[26]	79	Ciaran Haggerty	All
JR Racing^[27]	95	Joe Stables	4–6, 8

Notes

Race calendar and results

The calendar was published on 26 November 2014.^[28] The series supported British GT at six events, with stand-alone events at Snetterton in July and Brands Hatch in September.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	1	Oulton Park (International Circuit, Cheshire)	4 April	Will Palmer	Harrison Newey	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R2		6 April		Jordan Albert	Chris Mealin	Lanan Racing
	R3				Harrison Newey	Jordan Albert	Sean Walkinshaw Racing
2	R4	Rockingham (National Circuit, Northamptonshire)	2 May	Harrison Newey	Rodrigo Fonseca	Rodrigo Fonseca	Lanan Racing
	R5		3 May		Tom Jackson	Michael O'Brien	MGR Motorsport
	R6				Rodrigo Fonseca	Chris Mealin	Lanan Racing
3	R7	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix, Northamptonshire)	30 May	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R8		31 May		Ciaran Haggerty	Rodrigo Fonseca	Lanan Racing
	R9				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
4	R10	Snetterton Circuit (300 Circuit, Norfolk)	11 July	Omar Ismail	Harrison Newey	Omar Ismail	Chris Dittmann Racing
	R11		12 July		Will Palmer	Tom Jackson	Chris Dittmann Racing
	R12				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
5	R13	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)	1 August	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R14		2 August		Will Palmer	Jordan Albert	Sean Walkinshaw Racing
	R15				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
6	R16	Snetterton Circuit (300 Circuit, Norfolk)	22 August	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R17		23 August		Tom Jackson	Tom Jackson	Chris Dittmann Racing
	R18				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
7	R19	Donington Park (Grand Prix Circuit, Leicestershire)	12 September	Harrison Newey	Will Palmer	Harrison Newey	HHC Motorsport
	R20		13 September		Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R21				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
8	R22	Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit, Kent)	26 September	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport
	R23		27 September		Will Palmer	Harrison Newey	HHC Motorsport
	R24				Will Palmer	Will Palmer	HHC Motorsport

Championship standings

Scoring systemPoints were awarded to the top 20 classified finishers in all races.

Races	Position, points per race
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Races 1 & 3	35	29	24	21	19	17	15	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Race 2	25	22	20	18	16	15	14

Drivers' championship

Pos. Driver OUL ROC SIL SNE BRH SNE DON BRH Points 1 Will Palmer 1 3 5 Ret 5 8 1 4 1 2 18 1 1 4 1 1 Ret 1 2 1 1 1 6 1 592 2 Harrison Newey 2 6 9 Ret 4 12 Ret 6 2 3 15 2 4 2 11 2 2 3 1 7 3 8 1 2 455 3 Tom Jackson 4 5 4 Ret 2 5 4 3 10 16 1 4 3 3 5 3 1 2 10 6 12 13 12 3 420 4 Rodrigo Fonseca 9 8 3 1 8 2 15 1 3 6 2 7 10 5 6 7 Ret 12 DSQ 9 2 3 3 4 409 5 Ciaran Haggerty 6 2 7 13 Ret Ret 2 14 6 7 4 3 2 6 3 4 6 5 4 4 5 4 5 8 406 6 Jordan Albert 18 16 1 5 3 Ret 3 5 4 5 5 Ret 7 1 9 13 5 7 8 8 9 5 4 7 359 7 Jack Bartholomew 5 4 6 6 9 4 6 8 15 Ret 3 11 Ret 11 4 12 8 6 6 2 8 9 8 10 329 8 Chris Mealin 7 1 2 4 6 1 16 DSQ 7 NC 6 10 8 8 7 9 DSQ 8 7 10 Ret 10 9 Ret 303 9 Omar Ismail 7 Ret 17 1 7 5 6 7 2 5 4 4 5 5 6 Ret 19 Ret 260 10 Jack Lang 12 9 Ret 3 Ret 6 Ret 15 16 14 8 6 5 Ret 18 10 7 10 Ret 11 11 7 2 6 244 11 Sisa Ngebulana 8 15 11 12 16 7 5 2 18 15 Ret 9 9 Ret 8 11 13 13 14 14 Ret 6 7 5 221 12 align=left nowrap Ameya Vaidyanathan 16 Ret 12 2 17 Ret 13 16 14 12 9 16 Ret 12 14 16 Ret 9 3 3 7 11 13 9 217 13 Akhil Rabindra 11 10 15 11 7 15 Ret 11 8 8 13 12 11 Ret 10 8 Ret 14 9 16 10 14 14 15 203 14 Zubair Hoque 15 14 8 10 12 3 10 12 12 Ret 14 13 16 13 15 14 9 15 13 12 16 16 15 13 201 15 Fernando Urrutia 10 12 10 Ret 11 14 9 7 11 Ret 12 8 12 10 13 Ret Ret 16 Ret 15 14 2 10 Ret 194 16 Faisal Al Zubair 14 13 13 9 14 10 9 10 14 13 9 12 6 3 11 12 11 11 189 17 Michael O'Brien 13 11 14 8 1 Ret 12 10 13 4 11 15 17 Ret Ret 11 Ret 15 150 18 James Reveler 19 17 16 14 15 13 14 17 20 10 16 17 14 14 16 18 11 19 12 13 13 18 16 Ret 134 19 Hernán Fallas 17 Ret 17 Ret 10 Ret 8 Ret 19 17 10 18 15 17 4 15 17 12 103 20 Sebastian Lanzetti 3 7 Ret 15 Ret 9 11 13 9 89 21 Joe Stables 13 17 19 15 15 17 15 12 17 17 18 14 63 22 Paul Sieljes 7 13 11 34 23 Marc González 11 Ret 18 13 Guest drivers ineligible for points Riki Christodoulou Ret 9 5 Pos. Driver OUL ROC SIL SNE BRH SNE DON BRH Points

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup

The Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup was awarded to the driver who started from pole position most often throughout the season. Will Palmer was the winner of the Cup, starting 10 of the 24 races from pole position.

Pos.	Driver	Poles
1	Will Palmer	10
2	Harrison Newey	4
3	Jordan Albert	2
	Akhil Rabindra	2
5	Hernán Fallas	1
	Rodrigo Fonseca	1
	Omar Ismail	1
	Chris Mealin	1
	Sisa Ngebulana	1
	Michael O'Brien	1

2015 BRDC Formula 4 Autumn Trophy

See main article: 2015 BRDC Formula 4 Autumn Trophy.

Notes and References

1. News: BRDC F4 Championship gains new title sponsorship from DUO. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 10 February 2015. 19 February 2015. 19 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150219135256/http://www.formula4.com/news/re-named-duo-brdc-f4-championship-recognises-new-title-sponsor.aspx. dead.
2. News: Will Palmer secures BRDC Formula 4 crown with a round to go. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Alex. Kalinauckas. 13 September 2015. 23 October 2015. 1 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240501193339/https://www.autosport.com/national/news/will-palmer-secures-brdc-formula-4-crown-with-a-round-to-go-5001067/5001067/. live.
3. News: Akhil Rabindra enters BRDC F4 to race for Douglas Motorsport. David. Gruz. 13 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 13 March 2015. 3 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403111541/http://www.paddockscout.com/akhil-rabindra-enters-brdc-f4-to-race-for-douglas-motorsport. live.
4. News: Fernando Urrutia re-signs for BRDC Formula 4 with Douglas Motorsport. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 23 March 2015. 23 March 2015. 2 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094056/http://www.formula4.com/news/fernando-urrutia-re-signs-for-brdc-f4-with-douglas-motorsport.aspx. dead.
5. News: HHC retain Palmer for 2015 BRDC F4 title assault. David. Gruz. 16 December 2014. Paddock Scout. 18 December 2014. 17 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141217005315/http://www.paddockscout.com/hhc-retain-palmer-for-2015-brdc-f4-title-assault/. live.
6. News: Harrison Newey commits to full BRDC F4 programme in 2015. Allen. Peter. 13 November 2014. Paddock Scout. 27 November 2014. 4 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141204194003/http://www.paddockscout.com/harrison-newey-commits-to-full-brdc-f4-programme-in-2015/. live.
7. News: HHC complete 2015 BRDC F4 line-up with South African Sisa Ngebulana. Allen. Peter. 25 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 25 February 2015. 26 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150226103839/http://www.paddockscout.com/hhc-complete-2015-brdc-f4-line-up-with-sisa-ngebulana/. live.
8. News: Omar Ismail secures BRDC F4 debut with Chris Dittmann Racing. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 12 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 1 February 2015. 12 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150112162356/http://www.paddockscout.com/omar-ismail-secures-brdc-f4-debut-with-chris-dittmann-racing/. live.
9. News: Sieljes returns to Duo BRDC Formula 4 with Chris Dittmann Racing. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 24 April 2015. 28 April 2015. 28 April 2015. https://archive.today/20150428101046/http://www.formula4.com/news/sieljes-returns-to-duo-brdc-formula-4-with-chris-dittmann-racing.aspx. dead.
10. News: Tom Jackson stays with CDR for second season in BRDC F4. Allen. Peter. 23 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 23 February 2015. 23 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223144421/http://www.paddockscout.com/tom-jackson-stays-with-cdr-for-second-season-in-brdc-f4/. live.
11. News: Title battle recommences at Snetterton. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 7 July 2015. 13 August 2015. Michael O'Brien rounds out the top-10 as he switches to competing for Chris Dittmann Racing and the 20-year-old will be looking to add his second win of the year at Snetterton.. 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014828/http://www.formula4.com/news/title-battle-recommences-at-snetterton.aspx. dead.
12. News: Hillspeed confirm Al Zubair and Lanzetti for 2015 BRDC F4 season. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 8 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 8 January 2015. 8 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150108112738/http://www.paddockscout.com/hillspeed-confirm-al-zubair-and-lanzetti-for-2015-brdc-f4-season/. live.
13. News: Palmer tops opening wet practice session at Silverstone. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 29 May 2015. 2 June 2015.
14. News: Rookie Vaidyanathan completes Hillspeed's BRDC F4 line-up. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 23 March 2015. 23 March 2015. 27 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150327033316/http://www.formula4.com/news/rookie-vaidyanathan-completes-hillspeeds-brdc-f4-line-up.aspx. dead.
15. News: Fallas to race with Hillspeed at Snetterton. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 20 August 2015. 22 August 2015. 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014719/http://www.formula4.com/news/fallas-to-race-with-hillspeed-at-snetterton.aspx. dead.
16. News: Bartholomew joins BRDC F4 with team champions Lanan. David. Gruz. 7 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 8 January 2015. 8 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150108112855/http://www.paddockscout.com/bartholomew-joins-brdc-f4-with-team-champions-lanan/. live.
17. News: Rodrigo Fonseca joins Lanan for second BRDC F4 season. Allen. Peter. 29 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 1 February 2015. 2 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150202220612/http://www.paddockscout.com/rodrigo-fonseca-joins-lanan-for-second-brdc-f4-season/. live.
18. News: Mealin completes Lanan Racing line-up for Duo BRDC Formula 4. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 2 March 2015. 2 March 2015. 2 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115847/http://www.formula4.com/news/mealin-completes-lanan-racing-line-up-for-duo-brdc-formula-4.aspx. dead.
19. News: Jack Lang enters BRDC F4 for 2015 season. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 5 February 2015. Paddock Scout. 5 February 2015. 5 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205231957/http://www.paddockscout.com/jack-lang-enters-brdc-f4-for-2015-season/. live.
20. News: Zubair Hoque signs with SWR for 2015 BRDC F4 season. Allen. Peter. 19 January 2015. Paddock Scout. 20 January 2015. 20 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150120235041/http://www.paddockscout.com/zubair-hoque-signs-with-swr-for-2015-brdc-f4-season/. live.
21. News: SWR retain Albert for a second BRDC F4 season. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 4 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 4 March 2015. 3 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403103857/http://www.paddockscout.com/swr-retain-albert-for-a-second-brdc-f4-season. live.
22. News: Spanish Teenager Gonzalez to Make F4 Debut with SWR at Snetterton. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 7 July 2015. 11 July 2015. 13 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150713055908/http://www.formula4.com/news/spanish-teenager-gonzalez-to-make-f4-debut-with-swr-at-snetterton.aspx. dead.
23. News: James Reveler becomes 20th driver on the BRDC Formula 4 grid. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 25 March 2015. 25 March 2015. 27 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150327034051/http://www.formula4.com/news/james-reveler-becomes-20th-driver-on-the-2015-brdc-formula-4-grid.aspx. dead.
24. News: Hernan Fallas announced as MGR's first 2015 signing in BRDC F4. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 10 March 2015. Paddock Scout. 10 March 2015. 2 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402222359/http://www.paddockscout.com/hernan-fallas-announced-as-mgrs-first-2015-signing-in-brdc-f4. live.
25. News: O'Brien joins Mark Godwin Racing in BRDC Formula 4. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 30 March 2015. 30 March 2015. 2 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130037/http://www.formula4.com/news/obrien-joins-mark-godwin-racing-in-brdc-formula-4.aspx. dead.
26. News: Haggerty to race in BRDC F4 with Ecurie Ecosse and support of Indy 500 winner Franchitti. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 23 March 2015. 23 March 2015. 25 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150325214449/http://www.formula4.com/news/haggerty-to-race-in-brdc-f4-with-support-of-indy-500-winner-franchitti.aspx. dead.
27. News: Stables Joins 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Grid with JR Racing. BRDC Formula 4 Championship. British Racing Drivers' Club. 11 July 2015. 11 July 2015. 13 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150713062058/http://www.formula4.com/news/stables-joins-duo-brdc-formula-4-grid-with-jr-racing.aspx. dead.
28. News: BRDC Formula 4 replaces Formula 3 on British GT package for 2015. Mitchell. Scott. 26 November 2014. Autosport. Haymarket. 27 November 2014. 29 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129143549/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116944. live.