Indian racer Ameya Vaidyanathan will contest the 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Autumn Trophy with Hillspeed, returning to the team with which he participated in the 2015 main championship. The 18-year-old impressed in his very first season of racing, at any level, scoring three podiums en route to finishing 12th in the overall standings.
Arriving at the start of the series as a complete novice, Vaidyanathan developed quickly and claimed a stunning second place finish at Rockingham in just his fourth-ever BRDC F4 race. He followed that up with a double podium finish at the penultimate round of the year at Donington Park, highlighting the progress he made throughout the 24-race season.
Vaidyanathan said: "I think the car is really enjoyable to drive! With the stronger aerodynamic package, it really encourages you to experiment, and push your own boundaries to extract more and more performance. Given that this car is more complex from an engineering point of view than its predecessor, small changes have a bigger influence in how the car handles, so the accuracy of my own feedback is pretty important!
"That being said, the car is already performing strongly in its infancy, and there's no doubt that the future is promising over the course of its development."
Richard Ollerenshaw, Team Principal of Hillspeed, said: “We’re obviously extremely happy to be continuing the relationship with Ameya, and his manager Vaughan, into the Autumn Trophy and we’re all very much looking forward to seeing how he gets on with a full season of experience now under his belt.
“Ameya has developed very quickly since joining Hillspeed at the start of the year and we’re thrilled he’s continuing his development with us. We’re all determined to build further on the sort of pace and racecraft which helped him deliver impressive multiple podiums in the main championship. The arrival of the new car brings a fresh challenge, but that’s going to be the same for every driver.”
The Duo BRDC Formula 4 Autumn Trophy will mark the race debut of the new-for-2016 Tatuus Cosworth car, which features more power and aerodynamic grip and will make BRDC F4 the natural feeder series to European Formula 3 and GP3. The Trophy will feature eight races, with four being held at Snetterton on November 7/8, before the final quartet of contests take place on the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch on November 14/15.
