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Another perfect Saturday for Will as he takes victory at Snetterton

Will Palmer enjoyed another perfect Saturday in the Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship as he took pole position, fastest lap and victory at Snetterton. The 18-year-old was the class of the field as he took a dominant win, his seventh of the year, by leading home his HHC Motorsport team-mate Harri Newey by over eight seconds in round 16 of the 2015 season.

Qualifying took place in resplendent conditions at Snetterton as the weekend's Duo BRDC Formula 4 action got underway with qualifying on the 300 circuit. Will delayed his exit from the pit-lane, along with his two other HHC Motorsport team-mates Harri Newey and Sisa Ngebulana, to find some clear track.

After warming up his Pirelli tyres, he posted the fastest time of the session on his third lap to move comfortably clear of the chasing pack headed by Chris Dittmann Racing's Omar Ismail. Will's team-mate Harri Newey traded times with Ismail as they swapped positions in second and third before Will hooked up a stunning lap, touring the track in 1m49.396s. That put him over seventh-tenths of a second clear of Ismail and would prove the quickest lap in the session. Ismail held on to second to line up on the front row alongside the BRDC Rising star in race one, with Newey holding on to third at the end of the 20-minute session.

The sunny conditions continued into race one as Will lined up at the head of the field, with Omar Ismail for company on the front-row. After a delayed start to retrieve the stranded car of Fernando Urrutia, Will led away as the lights went out from Ismail. The 16-year-old got better traction off the line and attacked into Riches but Will saw off his challenge and held the position.

As the Chris Dittmann Racing man attempted to keep pace with the championship leader, he made a mistake on the second lap and dropped back down to fifth, promoting Will's HHC Motorsport team-mate Harri Newey into second, with Tom Jackson third.

The Southwater driver began extending his advantage by posting consecutive fastest laps as he controlled the race from the front. By the end of lap five, the halfway point of the race, his lead was up to 5.405s but he continued to push and kept pulling away from Newey. Further back, Ismail was involved in a battle for fifth with Faisal Al Zubair but the top-three were untroubled as they headed on to the final tour.

After 10 laps, Will took the chequered flag 8.163s ahead of Newey with Jackson 9.161s adrift in third. Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Ciaran Haggerty finished fourth with Omar Ismail completing the top-five. Will's win extends his advantage in the BRDC Formula 4 standings to 89 points over Lanan Racing's Rodrigo Fonseca, who finished seventh in race one.

The top-three stepped on to the podium and were presented with their trophies by McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner and 2014 BRDC F4 Champion, George Russell. By virtue of his win, the championship leader will start from eighth in tomorrow's reverse-grid race two.

After the race, Will said: "It was quite close off the start but I managed to hold off Omar. I think they had a battle behind me which let me get away, and then it was just about doing qualifying laps to bring the car home first. I think it's meant to be dry for race two tomorrow so I will aim to post a fast lap there and it will be a fun race trying to come through the pack to get another podium."

Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship - Snetterton race one result

1. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, 10 Laps
2. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, +8.163s
3. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, +9.161s
4. Ciaran Haggerty, GBR/Ecurie Ecosse, +14.243s
5. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, +20.817s
6. Faisal Al Zubair, Hillspeed, +20.907s
7. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, +25.630s
8. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, +26.212s
9. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, +27.323s
10. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, +27.957s
11. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +29.428s
12. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, +32.429s
13. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +32.935s
14. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +34.720s
15. Joe Stables, JR Racing, +38.934s
16. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, +41.605s
17. Hernan Fallas, Hillspeed, +44.206s
18. James Reveler, 23 Racing, +49.979s
DNF. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, 0 Laps

Race two of the weekend gets underway at 10:35 tomorrow morning (Sunday) and you can follow the action via live timing and updates on the official BRDC Formula 4 website.

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