Sedgwick delighted with top-ten finish on debut in French F4 Championship

The fifth round of the French F4 Championship saw Sedgwick lining up 15th on the grid for Saturday’s first race after a damaged floor and an braking issue had disrupted qualifying.

With his Lockton MIS Motorsport-supported car repaired, Sedgwick held his position into the first corner and then set about chasing down the pack of drivers in front of him.

He moved through the field to finish in 11th place, just six tenths shy of tenth which would have secured him pole for the second race of the day.

Race two saw Sedgwick slip to the back of the field after he had to avoid a spinning car and he then received a drive-through penalty for a jump-start.

He served his penalty on the third lap and rejoined the race in 16th position.

However, another determined drive saw him take the chequered flag in 11th and sixth-placed junior driver.

The target for Sunday’s final race was an overall top-ten finish.

Mid-race, two drivers came together in the pack which split the cars into two groups and allowed the front five to pull away.

As the remaining pack jostled for positions, the laps reduced and, on his final lap, the 16-year-old was in 13th position.

As the group of cars raced into the infield area of the circuit, two drivers ran wide and Sedgwick seized the opportunity, moving up two more positions.

A final dash to the line saw him gain another place and he crossed the line in tenth to cap a memorable debut weekend for the teenager.

“What a weekend,” he said.

“Racing at Magny-Cours, my first race in a single-seater, a top-ten finish against some of Europe’s best F4 drivers; not a bad weekend’s work.

“The racing is very different from what I experienced in the Ginetta Junior Championship.

“I have learnt a lot this weekend which will help me for the future.

“The floor failing on the car and then the braking issue, which the mechanics could not fix until after qualifying, was a tough break.

“Once the car was fixed, my lap time improved by just under a second a lap.

“I must say a big thank you to Lockton MIS Motorsport who have helped me in so many ways.

“Finishing in the top ten in my first F4 race weekend and fifth-placed junior driver is a great start.”