Horatio Fitz-Simon left Silverstone in a buoyant mood after making progress across the day at the inaugural F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost Scholarship.

Fitz-Simon, who moved back across to the UK from America to pursue a career in motorsport, clocked the ninth quickest time overall around the 1.6-mile National circuit after experimenting with car setup in the wet conditions.

The 19-year old also praised the development of the Formula 4 championships worldwide, citing a lack of obvious pathway as the chief reason for a brief step away from the sport after time spent in karting.

“I started kart racing when I was twelve and stopped when I was fourteen because there was no real ‘one thing’ to do at that time, and over the last few years the Formula 4 series’ have developed, and after I finished high school I thought the only thing I wanted to do was go motor racing, so I booked a one-way ticket out here to pursue a career in single-seaters in the home of motor sport,” explained Fitz-Simon.

The Brit also reflected positively on his latest test with Fortec Motorsport and was pleased with the progress made throughout the day.

“My day has been fabulous, I’ve learned a lot throughout the day, lots of changing conditions, this morning we had more of a damp track and a wet setup on, but throughout the day the car became easier to drive.

“We messed with the setup a lot and I think it ended very well, I learned a lot throughout the day and I progressed and became closer to the top and I’m very happy that I was able to adapt to the car and the changing conditions.”