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Oliver Stewart sees plenty to build on from F4 British Championship debut

Beauly's Oliver Stewart.
Beauly's Oliver Stewart.

Beauly’s Oliver Stewart feels he has plenty to build on from his F4 British Championship debut last weekend.

Stewart, who was signed up by Hitech GP earlier this year, competed in three races in the opening event of the championship at Donnington Park.

After a 12th-placed finish in his first race on Saturday, a top-10 finish followed on Sunday, before he closed with 11th spot later in the day.

Stewart’s three results put him 12th in the overall standings out of 15 drivers.

The 15-year-old says he was hamstrung by a slip up in qualifying, but he feels he has the pace to advance higher up the leaderboard.

Stewart said: “I made a mistake in qualifying, it was no fault of the team’s.

“I went out on the first tyre run and I was seventh on the board.

“We came in and switched tyres. For other more experienced drivers there would have been enough time to put in a lap, but, with it being my first qualifying session, I just couldn’t get the tyres there in time and by that point everybody else had gone faster.

Beauly’s Oliver Stewart ahead of the 2022 F4 British Championship season.

“We were 13th overall, which was really disappointing, as I know I had the pace to be at least top-eight.

“I just had to build on it from there.

“In the first race, two people stalled around me and boxed me in, which was annoying. I got held right up at the start, but I managed to come back from basically last to 12th.

“I was quite happy with that, and our pace was pretty good in that race. We were aiming to keep a consistent run of time through the field, and in the last couple of laps we were within half a second of the fastest lap.”

Teenager keen to use Donnington Park experience as learning curve

Stewart recorded two third-placed finishes in the Rookie Cup, and sits fourth in the overall standings between the six drivers taking part in the championship for the first time.

His Hitech GP team heads the Championship standings, however, with Irishman Alex Dunne at the top of the leaderboard.

Stewart feels the weekend was a strong learning experience in his first outing, adding: “Race two was a lot better. The start was better and I managed to get into the top 10.

“I was chasing down, but I couldn’t quite get there fast enough to be within a chance of getting within the top eight or nine.

“The race pace was good again, and then, when I went into race three, we had tyres that were good but one of them had a slight flat spot.

“That ended up being an issue. I went into the first turn and locked up a couple of times, but the tyre had more and more of a flat spot.

“At the last couple of laps we slowed down quite a bit, and the drivers behind were able to catch me.

“Overall, I’m still quite happy with two podiums in the rookie championship.

“There was a lot to build on. I learned a lot over the weekend, I raced pretty well and made a few good overtakes.

“There’s a lot to bring forward to the next one.”

Stewart expects competitive event at Brands Hatch

Stewart, who is in his fourth year at Charleston Academy, will now turn his attention towards the next race at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, on the outskirts of London, between May 13-15.

Beauly’s Oliver Stewart ahead of the 2022 F4 British Championship season.

He added: “I have been there a few times and I really enjoy the circuit. You need to have a really fast lap time, though, because the margins are so small.

“The top 10 will be within a 10th of a second – it’s that close.

“I’ve got exams just now so I have a lot of revision to do. I’ve got simulators which will allow me to practise, and find little bits I’m struggling with on track and find ways to improve.

“Hopefully I can then transfer that back to the track.

“The simulator has got a laser track, so you feel every bump you would feel in real life.

“I will be doing training to keep me going, as it’s been a while since I’ve been able to maintain full fitness.

“I had good fitness levels before when I was training nearly every day. With being away testing and doing school work, I have not had the chance to do that as much.”