Snetterton saw two female drivers both named Alexandra, join the F4 British championship certified by MSA – Powered by Ford. (F4)
Alexandra Marinescu joined Richardson racing, who have run Louise Richardson to podium finishes in the past. Marinescu had a busy test program leading up to Snetterton and so was feeling positive if realistic about her chances.
Alexandra Mohnhaupt joined Falcon who had also previously run a female driver last season, Jessica Hawkins.
Mohnhaupt has come from the Mexican F4 championship where she is second in the Rookie championship. She is currently just doing Snetterton and Knockhill. Mohnhaupt spoke before the weekend about the opportunity;
“It’s a great feeling to be the first Mexican driver in the F4 British Championship. I know I can do a good job and get some strong results for Mexico.
“I want to learn a lot. I want to learn from the other drivers and from the team so I can go back to Mexico stronger. I can learn a lot because British F4 uses the same car as in Mexico.”
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The tracks will be the biggest thing to get used to, as well as the tyres, but I think I can handle them.
“I want to finish as high up the order as possible, but it’s all about learning more about the car.
“I’m already really enjoying working with Falcon Motorsport. I am confident we will be able to make good progress together.
Monhaupt’s team boss Falcon Motorsport team principle Nick Streatfield explained about the deal and their aims:
“To be able to get out on track with Alexandra is good. We’ve been working on it for a while.
“ For her it’s all part of the learning curve; coming over to the UK to gain experience of a different championship. We are obviously very happy to take on that role and give her a different perspective to see how she measures against the regulars of the F4 British Championship.
“We’re keeping our expectations in check. We are going up against drivers who have been driving all year in this championship and have tested at most of the circuits. Alexandra is going to have to go straight into Snetterton and Knockhill, running at circuits she has never been to.
“It will be tough, but we know that and she knows that. That doesn’t mean to say we’re not aiming for the front, but it is more about Alexandra getting experience at the moment.”
She’s also had a successful karting career in Mexico, having been crowned National Rotax Junior Max Champion and Junior Max Champion in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The two girls found themselves next to each other on the grid with Marinescu in seventeenth and Monhaupt in eighteenth. Several drivers has spun off at Riches but it proved no problem for Marinescu or Monhaupt.
Both had a trouble free race in the first race of the weekend on Saturday, Marinescu took fifteenth, her pace improving by nearly seven tenths during the race. Monhaupt was less than half a second behind in sixteenth.
Things went even better in race two with both girls avoiding several clashes on track. Marinescu moved up to an impressive twelfth, she’d managed to pull away from Monhaupt for the first time this weekend and had put two cars between her and the Mexican driver who finished fifteenth.
They were back together in race three and Marinescu again beat Monhaupt this time in fifteenth and sixteenth although both girls set their best laps during the race.
With cars crashing all over the place in the various F4 sessions and races both girls did well to not only avoid any mistakes themselves but to also get quicker and quicker as they learnt the uk cars and the Snetterton circuit.
Marinescu was pleased;
“I’m really happy with how the weekend has gone and I think it’s been better than I expected,” she said. “The result in race two was a little bit lucky because of problems for other people, but I made good progress throughout the weekend in terms of my speed and was quicker every time I went on track, which is what I wanted to do.
“I’ve certainly learned a lot this weekend from being on track with other people and seeing what they do, as it’s totally different to going round and round in testing by yourself. There are lots of little things I’ve picked up that have helped me get quicker from working with the team and from following other drivers, and I feel confident that I can get closer to the pace of the cars ahead in the races to come.”
Marinescu’s Team boss Gwyn Richardson of Richardson racing was also happy with Alexandra’s performance on her debut with the team.
“I think it’s been a fantastic start for Alexandra this weekend,” he said. “She has driven well, has stayed out of trouble and has made good progress, as we can see by the fact that she set her best lap on the final lap of race three.
“She had luck on her side to finish twelfth in race two and we know that was the case, but at the same time, she had to do well to keep faster drivers at bay and the experience she has gained here will set her up well for the remainder of the season.”
Both drivers will be back in action in two weeks on the short but action packed circuit of Knockhill in Scotland where they will be looking to build on their Snetterton results. (By Marc Waller)
