Linus Lundqvist Takes Maiden F4 Win in Race Marred by Accident

Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist scored the first F4 British Championship win of his career by converting pole position into victory in the final race of the weekend at Donington Park, although the success was overshadowed by a frightening crash.

The accident occurred in the early stages of Sunday’s rain-hit race, when Britain’s Billy Monger – running unsighted in a train of cars – smashed dramatically into the rear of Finnish rival Patrik Pasma’s stricken machine on the run towards McLean’s corner. Both drivers were transported to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for exams, with Monger sustaining as of yet unspecified leg injuries. The race was aborted following the crash, with organisers later deciding not to restart it. As a consequence, Lundqvist – who was leading at the time of the accident – secured a muted first F4 career win in a race which ran for just three laps and in which only half points were awarded.

“A very sad way to end the weekend,” says Linus Lundqvist. “It’s a lot of mixed feelings at the moment. On the one hand, I’ve just taken my first win in Formula 4; on the other, it feels pretty irrelevant right now. My thoughts are with Billy and Patrik. We do about 170-180 km/h at the point of the track where they clashed, so it’s been a very big hit. I’m sure they will receive the best possible care and I wish them both a speedy recovery.”

Lundqvist had previously been on strong form throughout the weekend, topping Saturday morning’s qualifying session on both outright and second-fastest laps to seal pole position for races one and three of the meeting (the second race features reverse-grid rules).

While the Double R Racing rookie dropped behind championship leader Jamie Caroline in the opening heat, second place still marked Lundqvist’s first podium of 2017, and the Swede was hoping to repeat the feat in Race 2 when he retired with technical issues.

“It’s been a weekend of ups and downs,” Lundqvist concludes. “Double poles in qualifying, my first podium in Race 1, the retirement in Race 2… It was all a bit odd even before the events of the final race. In general, I’m pleased to take two strong results away from here and demonstrate our true pace, even though on days like this the most important thing is obviously the health of my rivals.”  

Linus Lundqvist now sits ninth in the overall championship standings, despite not scoring a single point at the Brands Hatch season-opener two weeks ago due to a trio of technical failures. Next up on the F4 British Championship calendar is a May 5-7 visit to the ultra-fast Thruxton Circuit north of Southampton.