Singapore teen Christian Ho clinches first win in 2023 Formula Four Spanish Championship
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Teenage Singaporean driver Christian Ho has risen to third out of 34 in the drivers’ championship with 73 points.
PHOTO: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY
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SINGAPORE – Despite being in the midst of his examinations, teenage Singaporean driver Christian Ho showed his ability to switch gears effortlessly as he aced a Formula Four (F4) Spanish Championship race as well.
That May 28 victory at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Teruel, Spain, was his first F4 win, coming just a year after he made the step up from karting.
F4 racing was started in 2014 to bridge the gap between karting and F3, which is a feeder series to the top-tier F1.
Holding pole position at Aragon, the 16-year-old led from start to finish with his quick reflexes. He topped the 32-car field in 28min 13.728sec, 2.757sec ahead of Campos Racing teammate Enzo Deligny.
This is his fourth podium spot in six races this season since joining Campos Racing from MP Motorsport.
He has risen to third out of 34 in the drivers’ championship with 73 points, just one point behind Sainteloc Racing’s French driver Theophile Nael and nine adrift of Brazilian leader Pedro Clerot from MP Motorsport.
Expressing delight at his victory, Christian said: “When I crossed the finish line, all I could think of was how happy I was and I’m glad that all my hard work is paying off. I feel so much more motivated to continue working hard and winning more races.”
He revealed that he is also in the midst of his General Certificate of Secondary Education exams, adding: “So I’m studying hard too, but I’ve been able to balance racing and my studies quite well.
“I’ll continue working hard in my race preparation and I am looking forward to my next race in a month’s time in Navarra, Spain, in which I am sure that I can do very well.”
Christian’s victory came in the second of three races in Aragon. He had also started the first race on May 27 in pole position but failed to capitalise on it due to a two-second penalty for exceeding track limits. Eventually, he finished second behind Deligny, while another teammate Noah Stromsted came in third as Campos Racing swept the podium spots.
But Christian bounced back the next day to finish on top of the podium for the first time. He retired in the final race after his car suffered a broken left-rear suspension.
He said: “Race 1 was a bit of a shame for me and I was quite disappointed by how it turned out, but I will learn from it and not make similar mistakes in the future. Race 2 was quite a good redemption and I hope that there will be more wins coming this year.”
This season’s F4 Spanish Championship, which has seven rounds of three races each weekend, started on May 5 at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, where Christian claimed second- and third-placed finishes.
The action will continue on June 24 and 25 at the Navarra circuit in Los Arcos, followed by three more rounds in September and October. The season ends in a November finale at Barcelona’s Catalunya circuit, where two-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen just claimed Red Bull’s seventh victory in seven races earlier in June.
Teenage Singaporean driver Christian Ho at the MotorLand Aragon circuit during the F4 Spanish Championship.
PHOTO: DUTCH PHOTO AGENCY
Christian, who has dreamt of racing in F1 since young, added: “The ultimate goal is still to race in Formula One, but my focus is on the Spanish F4 now.
“I’m taking it one step at a time and focusing on each race as they come. All my progress and hard work here will play a huge role in my development and I hope to continue getting good results and improving throughout the season.”
