County Derry Red Bull driver claims his maiden F4 victory in Algarve Portugal

County Derry’s Fionn McLaughlin could not have dreamed of a better start to his Formula 4 career.

The Red Bull junior claimed his maiden single-seater victory in the Formula Winter Series’ third race at Algarve, Portugal.

McLaughlin began the Sunday race in fifth on the grid following his qualification performance the day before, only 0.2 seconds behind Maxim Rehm in fourth.

The Magherafelt driver got off to an electric start as the pole sitters struggled off the line due to the slick tyres struggling in the damp conditions.

He followed this up with an excellent move on the outside of Thomas Bearman at turn seven to move into second.

However, this was all for naught as the red flags waved due to the technical issue with the start lights, and so the field was called back to the pits to restart in their original positions behind a safety car.

The safety car led the field for two laps, and wet tyres proved to be the correct choice, as on the lap three restart there were lots of sideways moments, and many drivers slid off at turn one, including Gabriel Gomez and McLaughlin.

Gomez emerged with the lead, but a charging McLaughlin was able to literally slip by at turn six, and the Magherafelt driver was 1.63s clear of Gomez at the end of the lap and was 3.2s ahead a lap later.

Tyre management proved to be crucial to the 17-year-old’s victory, as McLaughlin found his inner Carlos Sainz as he used that skill to help guide him across the finish line in first place.

It was the perfect end to the County Derry man’s weekend in Portugal after a promising first two races on the Saturday in which he finished fifth in his first race before fighting at the front in his second race until contact forced him into the pit to finish outside the points.

The Irish driver will look to build upon this impressive start to his F4 career when he takes to the circuit in Valencia in two weeks time.