The Felber twins, Cash and Roman, are shaking up British F4. Their unique rivalry at Fortec Motorsport, fueled by contrasting styles and strategic data sharing, is propelling them toward the elite, defying expectations on and off the track.
Originally from Ohio, this inseparable pair swapped the Segway karts in their driveway for European single-seaters, a rapid transition launched after the 2022 United States Grand Prix. Today, they are central figures in junior racing, competing against the top talents from Formula 1 development programs. Their journey, a true lesson in determination, is marked by the ambition to prove themselves as drivers .
A unique rivalry at the heart of British F4
formulanerds.com: Cash, Roman, you are teammates at Fortec Motorsport in British F4. How would you describe this special dynamic of being identical twins and rivals on track?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Roman: We’re teammates and we train together, but we’re also competing against each other every weekend. We have different engineers and we’re really different as drivers, even though we’ve done everything together.
Cash: Honestly, “once you’re in the car, he’s another driver. I’m not sitting there thinking, ‘That’s my twin, I need to be careful.'” Obviously I wouldn’t do anything stupid, but I wouldn’t do that with another driver either. We want to race each other. We’ve been competing against each other our whole lives, so it feels pretty normal to us.
Divergent driving styles, a winning synergy
formulanerds.com: Your driving styles are very different: Cash is smoother, Roman is more aggressive. How do these differences influence your setups and work with your engineers?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Cash: I tend to like the car to feel controlled and predictable. My approach is generally smoother, so I might notice something in the balance of the car or where I can’t carry the speed I want through a corner. The key is being able to explain that properly to the engineer. You have to explain exactly what the car is doing, not just say that it doesn’t feel right. It changes every week.
Roman: I’m probably more aggressive with the car, and I’m particularly comfortable in high-speed corners. Sometimes Cash and I can experience similar things with the cars but describe what we’re feeling differently. That’s useful because the engineers have the data in addition to what we tell them. We’re both learning to give very precise feedback because that’s a big part of learning to become a better driver. The funny thing is that we learned together, so you’d think we’d end up driving the same way, but we don’t.
formulanerds.com: How do you use your shared data to help each other improve?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Roman: Since we’re teammates, we can also compare our data. That’s one of the advantages of having Cash in the other car. If he’s faster somewhere, I can look at what he’s doing differently, and he can do the same with me. “We are in competition, but it wouldn’t make sense to hide things from each other when we can both become better drivers by sharing information.”
Cash: It pushes both of us. There probably aren’t many drivers who have someone so close going through almost the exact same career at the same time. If Roman is faster than me somewhere, I can’t really find excuses because I can see his data and understand what he’s doing.
The Felber Twins’transition from the USA to the UK
formulanerds.com: Your path took you from Segway karts in Ohio to European competition. Why did you decide to make this usa to British F4 transition so quickly?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Roman: We felt like it was the right next step. If you want to see how far you can go in single-seaters, at some point you need to test yourself in Europe. The UK has a very strong racing culture and a highly competitive F4 championship.
Cash: We also wanted to challenge ourselves. We’re racing on circuits steeped in history, against very good drivers. Moving from Ohio to the UK at 16 is a big change. The competition is the biggest difference here; there are many drivers on the grid who have been racing for years at a very high level in karting and cars, so small mistakes cost a lot more.
formulanerds.com: Cash and Roman, you also became the first twin brothers in the history of USA Ligier Junior F4 to share a podium. Have you had any memorable experiences in junior categories that shaped your current approach ?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Cash: The big moment was probably the United States Grand Prix at COTA in 2022. We met Max Verstappen and other F1 drivers, and got to see everything up close. After that, racing became something we really wanted to pursue. We started competing in karting and cars in 2023, then F4 in America, and now we’re here in the UK. It happened very fast.
Roman: We had to learn a lot of new tracks and adapt quickly. British F4 has been a challenge for us, with good weekends and tougher ones, but that’s part of why we came here. You learn more when you’re pushed.
Managing emotions and measuring up against future champions
formulanerds.com: How do you handle emotions after a mixed weekend, for example if one of you makes the podium and the other runs into issues?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Cash: You have to separate the two things. If I had a good result and Roman didn’t, I’m obviously happy with my result, but I also know how frustrating it is when a weekend doesn’t go your way.
Roman: And I’m not going to be angry at Cash because he got a podium. I’ll congratulate him. Then, with my engineer, I analyze my own weekend and what happened, what I could have done differently, and what we can improve for the next one. Racing has enough ups and downs that eventually the situation will probably be reversed. We can also use the fact that one car had a good weekend: there is data that can potentially help both of us.
formulanerds.com: How do you approach racing against rivals who are already part of Formula 1 junior programs?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Roman: It’s helpful because those are exactly the people you want to measure yourself against. If our goal is to race professionally at the highest level, we have to compete against really good drivers. You can’t be intimidated by a logo on someone’s race suit.
Cash: Once on track, it doesn’t matter what program someone is attached to. We respect what they’ve achieved because they’ve obviously earned that opportunity, but we’re still there to race them.
Beyond the track, ambition and recognition for the Felber twins
formulanerds.com: As British F4 twin drivers, where do you hope to see the Felber name in the racing world five years from now?
Cash Felber / Roman Felber:
Cash: Hopefully much higher up the ladder. In five years, we’ll only be 21, so we’d like to be racing professionally and competing at a very high level. The main goal is that in five years, “we want people to know the Felber name because of what we’ve actually achieved on track. We have a good story as twins, but ultimately we both want to be recognized as good racing drivers in our own right.”
Roman: Neither of us can honestly say exactly which championship that will be, as motorsport can change very quickly. Obviously, we’d love to get closer to Formula 1, but there are many steps between where we are now and there. F1 is a dream, but we’re realistic: there are only about twenty seats, so you can be a very good driver and not have one. If I could make a career racing professionally at a high level, whether in IndyCar or another major championship, I’d consider that a huge achievement.
Cash: Same for me. We want to see how far we can go. F1 is what we’re aiming for, but racing professionally is the main goal. We’ve always been interested in business and experimented with different things since we were young, so I don’t think racing has to be the only thing we ever do. But right now we’re 16 and completely focused on becoming better racing drivers. There’s plenty of time to figure out the rest later.
