Following a strong campaign in F4 Middle East, Emily Cotty showcased very promising speed in her Formula Winter Series debut at Barcelona, where she secured a 15th-place finish overall, along with a victory in the Female Trophy in her first-ever race in the series.
Fresh off a highly positive debut season in F4 Middle East, Emily Cotty returned to Europe to make her debut in the Formula Winter Series—immediately showcasing strong pace in a competitive 28-car field. She battled in the midfield and secured a 15th-place finish overall, along with a victory in the Female Trophy in her first-ever race in the series.
Cotty had an impressive campaign in the Middle East, first competing in the opening two rounds of the Formula Trophy UAE at the end of 2024, where she secured her first top-15 finish. She then continued her development with notable progress at each round of the highly competitive F4 Middle East Championship.
Having joined R-Ace GP, Cotty quickly improved on her best result with a P14 in Abu Dhabi before continuing to gain experience, ultimately securing her first points-scoring finish with P12 in Dubai. The young British racer continued her upward trajectory, narrowly missing out on a top-ten finish with P11 in the following round, adding more points to her tally. Despite an unfortunate season finale in Qatar, Cotty once again demonstrated significant improvement and racecraft, consistently fighting for top-ten positions.
Returning to Europe with a solid foundation, Emily joined top team Hitech GP for the Formula Winter Series finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, taking over the #4 Tatuus previously driven by Nina Gademan, who was unavailable due to a scheduling clash with F1 Academy collective tests in Shanghai.
Her first weekend in the Formula Winter Series therefore provided another valuable learning opportunity; Cotty quickly proved she could run competitively in the midfield, setting the eleventh-fastest time in one of the pre-event test sessions on Friday.
However, Saturday morning's qualifying session presented an extra challenge, as drivers faced a wet track. Although the conditions had been forecasted, most previous running had taken place in dry conditions, making the session more unpredictable.
Three red flags in fcat disrupted Q1. Cotty was unable to capitalize on her speed and did not set a representative lap in the first session: her 2:09.857 time left her P22, setting up a challenging recovery race. In Q2, she managed to improve with a 2:04.544 but remained in P22.
Leo Sami Robinson secured pole position alongside Fionn McLaughlin, with Bart Harrison and Davide Larini occupying the second row. The track had dried after the morning rain, but grip levels remained tricky. Simon Schranz went off into the gravel during the formation lap, delaying the race start with an extra formation lap.
At lights out, Cotty gained a position, moving up to P21 and immediately putting pressure on Kirill Kutskov. She overtook Kutskov on lap 2 and also picked up a place from Westcott, advancing to P19. However, Kutskov fought back, shuffling Cotty back to P20, though she still held the lead in the Female Trophy standings.
Incidents for Thomas Bearman and Maksimilian Popov, who both went off into the gravel, allowed Cotty to capitalize and move up to P17. Running at a strong pace of 1:45.3—significantly quicker than the cars around her—she gained another position by lap 7, climbing to P16 and closing in once again on Kutskov.
Despite continuously applying pressure, Cotty initially struggled to find a way past and her lap times stabilized around 1:47.5. In the final laps, she intensified her attack, eventually making the move stick and passing Kutskov for P15 on lap 16. She immediately pulled away but faced a nine-second gap to Ludovico Busso ahead.
Cotty crossed the finish line in P15, securing victory in the Female Trophy on her Formula Winter Series debut—a strong performance to cap off her first race in the series.
Emily started from P20 for the second race of the weekend, held on a wet track on Dunsay morning. As the lights went out, conditions were difficult for all drivers; the field navigated the first corners without incident, whoever Ginevra Panzeri was the first victim of the slipery track, ending up in the gravel and triggering a Safety Car at the end of the first lap.
Cotty had another strong start, and just as she had done throughout the F4 Middle East season, she skillfully made her way through the pack. She climbed to P18 and took the lead in the Female Trophy class.
As the race was set to go green again, an issue for Kabir Anurag brought the US Racing driver to a halt, extending the Safety Car period. On lap 5, Cotty made a strong restart and overtook Aleksander Ruta, moving up to P16.
However, she was handed a five-second penalty for overtaking before the start-finish line at the restart. To retain her Female Trophy lead, she now needed to extend her gap to Mathilda Paatz, who was two cars behind.
Running at a solid pace of 2:02.3, Cotty gained half a second on Kutskov. On lap 10, Maksimilian Popov spun and came to a stop at Turn 1, while Thomas Bearman went off at Turn 9, triggering a second Safety Car.
While the incidents promoted Cotty to P15, the Safety Car was very bad news for the British racer, as it erased the gap she had built to offset her penalty. The race restarted with just one minute remaining; Davide Larini spun at Turn 1 in the still tricky conditions, while Javier Herrera also ended up in the gravel. Cotty capitalized, climbing to P13.
She crossed the finish line in 13th position, but due to her penalty, she was demoted to P18—just missing out on a second consecutive Female Trophy victory. Despite the setback, Cotty once again demonstrated impressive speed, fighting her way up the order and running close to the top ten.
For the final race of the season, the sun finally made an appearance, and the track was fully dry for the first time all weekend. Cotty lined up in P22 on the grid, aiming for another charge through the field and potentially another Female Trophy win.
At the start, McLaughlin was slow off the line, but the field made it cleanly through Turn 1.
However, disaster struck for Cotty at the end of the first lap—she was hit by a competitor, resulting in a puncture and forcing her to pit.
She rejoined the race, but by that point, she was over 30 seconds behind the pack. With a tough challenge ahead, she needed a Safety Car intervention to get back into contention.
Maxim Rehm had contact at Turn 1, but the race remained green.
Despite the setback, Cotty refused to give up; she continued pushing at a strong 1:45s pace, leading a group of cars that had also pitted due to issues or contact. Running in P25, she gained a position when Maksim Rehm went off.
With six minutes to go, Aleksander Ruta and Fionn McLaughlin collided, dropping down the order. Cotty moved ahead of McLaughlin after his incident. On the final lap, she battled Aleksander Ruta but finished just half a second behind, crossing the line in P23.
It was an unfortunate end to her weekend, as she was caught out by first-lap contact and never had a chance to recover due to the lack of a Safety Car. However, Cotty showcased strong speed throughout the event—just as she did in her F4 Middle East campaign—demonstrating significant development over the winter and solidifying herself as a promising talent for the next season.
Comments