McLaughlin extends F4 lead despite collision

Fionn McLaughlin now holds a commanding lead in British F4 thanks to his win in Scotland

Fionn McLaughlin extended his lead at the top of the British F4 standings despite a collision with his title rival at Knockhill.

Red Bull Junior driver McLaughlin came together with Hungarian Martin Molnar in the closing stages of the third race at the Scottish circuit.

McLaughlin was forced to retire from the race while Molnar was penalised for the incident.

The 17-year-old from Northern Ireland had won the opening race on Saturday for Hitech Racing and finished 10th in Sunday's second race.

After another strong weekend, McLaughlin leads Molnar by 40.5 points with three rounds remaining, and he also leads the rookie standings.

On Monday, it was announced that McLaughlin had been named as one of four contenders for Motorsport Ireland's Sexton Trophy.

The Sexton Trophy is awarded annually to the top young racing driver from Ireland and McLaughlin has been nominated alongside Victor Cullen, Jason Smyth and Sean McGovern.

The winner will be announced in December and will receive 42,000 euro towards their racing career.

In the British Touring Car Championship, Chris Smiley extended his lead in the Independents' championship with three wins for Restart Racing.

The Northern Ireland driver picked up overall finishes of 12th in races one and two and 11th in race three to remain in the top 10 of the overall championship.

The next round of the BTCC and British F4 takes place at Donington Park on 30 and 31 August.