British Formula 4 - Meet the Female Driver Line-Up
With the first round of the brand new season of British Formula 4 over, let’s take a closer look at the three female drivers competing in the series this year.
British Formula 4 kicked off its first round of the season last weekend at Donington Park. The weekend saw three female drivers take to the grid to compete as part of the thirty one driver line-up - Chiara Battig, Daniella Sutton and Ella Lloyd. Let’s get to know each of them in a little more detail and find out how each of them fared in the first round of the 2026 season.
Chiara Battig
Bättig made her single-seater debut in the newly-relaunched F4 Saudi Arabian Championship late last year. She took her season-best result of seventh in the first race held in Jeddah and went on to score two more points finishes across the following two rounds. She finished the season in P12 overall.
Earlier this year Bättig joined Campos Racing to compete in select rounds of the Formula Winter Series. She opened up the season with her first podium in single-seaters by finishing second in race three at Estoril. She finished in P17 overall at the end of the campaign with her limited appearances in the season.
Chiara’s first weekend of British F4 action in 2026 would be one full of learning and getting to grips with the Championship. Driving for Hitech, Chiara had a highest finish of P13 in the final of the three races in Donington with a P14 and a P18 result in the first and second races of the weekend to boot. She sits in P24 overall in the Driver’s Standings with four points to her name.
Daniella Sutton
In 2025, Daniella competed in the British Racing and Sports Car Club Fiesta Junior Championship. She’ll be representing Chris Dittmann Racing in 2026 and will use her time in British F4 to help realise her ultimate ambition to be selected for the F1 Academy grid in 2027.
Danielle’s first weekend in British Formula 4 was a foundational one in terms of gaining valuable experience. While her results on paper may not look like much, P25, P23 and P25, this early stage of her 2026 campaign isn’t about that. It’s about building a firm base from which to launch from later on in the season where the fundamentals are second nature and her full focus can be on developing and honing her race craft to move further up the order. This has been an element of racing that she’s already been able to showcase. Starting from the rear of the field, Danielle’s movement upwards through the field in the second race of the weekend also earned her valuable championship points.
As a result, Sutton sits in P18 overall with seven points to her name.
Ella Lloyd
Starting her competitive racing career in 2022, Ella Lloyd made her racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship. The Welsh driver then competed in the Ginetta GT Championship in the following year, securing the vice-champion title in the highly competitive field.
Lloyd also competed in British F4, ending the 2024 season with three P2 results, and one P3 and multiple points finishes. In October 2024, it was announced that Lloyd was joining the McLaren Driver Development programme and will therefore represent the team in the 2025 F1 Academy season with Rodin Motorsport. She completed one F1 Academy race weekend during the 2024 season, acting as the Wild Card at the Singapore Grand Prix. In her debut season in the series, Ella was the highest placed rookie overall, finishing in P4 in the standings.
Ella Lloyd made her Formula E debut back in November 2024 too at the all women’s test in Jarama. She’s appeared in the Berlin and Valencia tests since then too before switching over to Envision Racing when McLaren left the series, driving for them in the latest test session held in Madrid.
Back in British Formula 4, Ella had a very solid ending to her weekend, after a pair of mixed results in the first two races. P13 and P25 are not the typical finishing places we’ve come to expect from the Welsh driver. But third time was the charm for Lloyd as she finished in an excellent fifth place for Rodin Motorsport in the third and final race of the weekend. She sits in P10 overall in the standings with ten points, tied on the same number of points as three other drivers.
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British Formula 4 returns May 9th at Brands Hatch.