The F4 Spanish Championship will soon start its new season at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. The grid is even bigger than last season and once again well filled with car racing rookies. In this preview you will get an overview of all the teams and their drivers, the race calendar, the points system and the pre-season testing. In addition, at the end I again give my short prediction for the drivers and team championship.
So far, 30 drivers from nine different teams have been named to take part in the championship. Compared to last year, the two Spanish teams from Fórmula de Campeones and Teo Martín Motorsport are no longer on the grid. Instead, Tecnicar Motorsport Solutions and Rodin Carlin are new on the grid this season. Further drivers and teams may be added during the course of the season.
Campos Racing
Jesse Carrasquedo, Matteo De Palo, Enzo Deligny, Andrés Cárdenas, Christian Ho, Noah Strømsted
Last year, the Spanish team succeeded in winning both the drivers' title with Nikola Tsolov and the team championship. This season, six drivers will be competing for Campos Racing. Jesse Carrasquedo already competed with the team at selected weekends last year. The Mexican achieved his best result so far with a 16th place at the Algarve International Circuit. He has won two races in the Danish F4 in 2021 and two races in the F4 NACAM in 2022. Matteo De Palo, on the other hand, is starting his first year in Formula 4. Last year he competed in OK races in karting. To prepare for the new year, he took part in a Formula Winter Series weekend at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where he directly won his first Formula 4 race. Enzo Deligny enters his first Formula 4 season as a Red Bull Junior. During his karting career, the French-Chinese dual national finished fourth in the European championship in the OK class. He made his F4 debut at the first weekend of the Italian F4 in Imola with AKM Motorsport. It will also be the first year in Formula 4 for Andrés Cárdenas. During his karting career, the Peruvian won the Rotax Max Challenge Perú and was runner-up in the Panamerican ROK Cup Challenge. In Europe, he was runner-up in the 2022 Champions of the Future Winter Series and managed to win the gold medal at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games. In addition, Cárdenas is part of Fernando Alonso's A14 management. For Christian Ho it will be the second season in the Spanish F4. The driver from Singapore made it into the points several times last year. His best result was two fourth places at the season finale in Barcelona. He finished the championship in 13th place. The team is completed by Noah Strømsted. The Dane was immediately a solid contender for the podium on his debut last year at the end of the season. He scored two top-five results from six races, including a pole position at Los Arcos.
Saintéloc Racing
Théophile Naël, Luciano Morano, Theodor Jensen
The French Saintéloc Racing team will start its first full year in the Spanish F4 Championship with three drivers. Théophile Naël already entered the championship last year with the team at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He managed to finish in the points four times, with two eighth places being his best results to date. In preparation for the new season, all three drivers competed with the team in the F4 UAE. Frenchman Naël finished the championship in eleventh place. During his time in karting, he won the French Championship in the Cadet category in 2018 and the IAME Series France in the X30 Junior class in 2020, among others. His compatriot and teammate Luciano Morano has been racing mainly in the French Championship in recent years. In the F4 UAE Championship, a 22nd place in Kuwait was his best result. Theodor Jensen starts into his second Formula 4 year. Last season he was mainly racing in the Danish F4, where he finished seventh with one race win and two other podiums. He made his debut in Spanish F4 with Saintéloc at the Circuito de Alcañiz in Aragón. The Dane's best result in the F4 UAE Championship was an 18th place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
MP Motorsport
Alvise Rodella, Keanu Al-Azhari, Pedro Clerot, Valerio Rinicella, Jerónimo Berrío
MP Motorsport has so far signed five drivers for the new season. Alvise Rodella is contesting his debut season in Formula 4. Earlier in the year, Rodella made his debut in the Formula Winter Series, competing in the first two rounds of the series at Jérez and Valencia. Last year, the Italian raced a combined program of the various WSK series and cups, the FIA World Karting Championship, the British Karting Championship and more. Keanu Al-Azhari made his Formula 4 debut at the F4 UAE Trophy Round as part of the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi last year. The UAE driver immediately scored two podium finishes in his first two races, finishing third in both. He finished the F4 UAE Championship in seventh place with two more podiums. During his karting career, he was runner-up in the IAME Series UAE in the X30 Junior class. For Pedro Clerot, 2023 will be his second year in Formula 4. After winning the inaugural edition of Brazilian F4 in his debut season, he made the move to Europe for this year. With seven race wins and four further podium finishes, he convinced many of his talent last year. In 2021, he also managed to finish Formula Delta in his native Brazil as runner-up with two wins and seven further podium places. It will also be the second Formula 4 year for his teammate Valerio Rinicella. The Italian finished last year's Spanish F4 in sixth place with two podiums and consistent points results. During the preparation for the new season, he managed to score six more podiums in F4 UAE and finish the championship in fourth place. The team is completed by Jerónimo Berrío. The Colombian competed in last year's FFSA Academy French F4 Championship. He finished his first year in Formula 4 in sixth place with four podiums. At the season finale at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, he managed to claim his first victory.
Drivex
George Zhuravskiy, Alexander Bolduev, Daniel Nogales, Alexander Abkhazava, Maximiliano Restrepo, Juan Cota
The Drivex team enters the new year with five less experienced drivers and one more. George Zhuravskiy and Alexander Bolduev are both part of former F1 driver Sergey Sirotkin's S35 Academy. Both made their Formula 4 debut with Xcel Motorsport in the F4 UAE Championship earlier this year. While Zhuravskiy finished 39th overall, Bolduev managed to pick up a point in tenth place at the second race at the final weekend in Abu Dhabi. He therefore finished the championship in 29th place. Daniel Nogales already competed with the team last season. His best result was a sixth place at the Ciruito de Navarra. The Spaniard finished 14th in the overall standings. Alexander Abkhazava will contest his first races in Formula 4 in 2023. The driver from Georgia took part in the F4 UAE Championship with R-ace GP at the beginning of the year. His best result was a ninth place at the last race in Kuwait. He finished 28th in the overall standings. Maximiliano Restrepo is also taking his first steps in Formula 4 this season. In preparation for his rookie season, the Colombian took part in the Formula Winter Series with Drivex. At the Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto and the Circuit Ricardo Tormo he collected his first kilometers in the car. The last driver in the team is Juan Cota. The Spaniard also made his F4 debut on the first two weekends in the Formula Winter Series in Jerez and Valencia. His best result was a fourth place at the Valencia Circuit. During his career in karting, he was runner-up in the Cadet category of the 2019 Spanish Championship, among others.
GRS Team
Carl Bennett
The GRS team starts the new season with one driver. Carl Bennett will contest his first full season in Europe in 2023. Previously, the Thai racer competed in the F4 US Championship, where he won his first Formula 4 race at NOLA Motorsports Park in March this year. Bennett gained his first racing experience in Europe at the end of 2022. He took part in the GB4 and Spanish Formula 4 season finale, which was held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in November.
Monlau Motorsport
Pablo Sarrazin, Ricardo Gracia, Fernando Barrichello, Eloi González
Monlau Motorsport is once again competing in Spanish Formula 4 this year in cooperation with Van Amersfoort Racing. Four drivers will be competing with the team this season. Pablo Sarrazin raced in the French F4 Championship last year, where a sixth-place finish in Pau was his best result. The Frenchman is contesting only his second year in Formula 4 in 2023, and the same applies to his teammate Ricardo Gracia. The Brazilian contested both the Spanish F4 and the Brazilian F4 last year. In his homeland, he managed to win one race and finish another on the podium. As a result, he became ninth in the Brazilian F4 championship. His best result in the Spanish F4 so far was two 15th-place finishes. Fernando Barrichello is a second Brazilian driver in the team. The son of former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello also competed in Brazilian Formula 4 last year. He won two races, finished on the podium twice more and ended the championship in seventh place. In preparation for the new season, he also contested three race weekends in F4 UAE. In the course of the season, the team will be completed by Eloi González. The Spaniard received a wildcard for the championship through his title win in the X30 Senior category of the Spanish Karting Championships.
Tecnicar Motorsport Solutions
Eric Gené, Griffin Peebles, TBA
The new Tecnicar Motorsport Solutions team has officially announced two drivers so far and plan to compete with a third driver. Both drivers will start their first season in Formula 4. Eric Gené comes from a racing family. He is the son of former World Touring Car Champion Jordi Gené and nephew of former F1 driver Marc Gené. The Barcelona based driver has participated in the main championships in Spain and Europe during his career in karting. His teammate this year is Griffin Peebles, who will also compete in occasional races in Italian F4. The Chinese-born Australian switched from mini to junior karting in the second half of 2021 and last year finished 23rd in the WSK Super Master Series and seventh in the WSK Open Cup in the OK Junior category.
Rodin Carlin
Alex Ninovic, TBA, TBA
The team of Rodin Carlin will participate this year newly also in Spanish Formula 4. So far, they have only officially confirmed Alex Ninovic, but more drivers are expected. Among them at individual weekends perhaps also British F4 drivers such as Noah Lisle, Louis Sharp or Dion Gowda. Australian Ninovic has an impressive 77% podium finish record throughout his karting career. Among others, he won the Australian Nationals Championships in the KA3 Senior category when he was only 15 years old. A year earlier, he won the KA4 Junior series of the championship.
Cram Motorsport
Flavio Olivieri, Alessandro Silvaggi
Cram Motorsport is entering the new season with two cars.
The Como, Italy-based team added Flavio Olivieri to its ranks during several test days in 2022 already. Last winter, he participated in Formula 4 UAE and made
his F4 debut with Cram in the Middle East. The Italian driver managed to approach the top-10 positions in the last races of the season. Alessandro Silvaggi will make his Formula 4 debut at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend. He has spend the past two years preparing and testing F4 cars at various tracks with
different teams.
This year, 21 races will again be held spread over seven weekends.The five races in Spain are organized by RFEDA and the season opener at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps will be held as part of the 24H GT Series. In addition, a second race abroad will be held at Estoril, replacing Portimão from the previous year.
Round 1: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium (5–7 May)
Round 2: MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz, Spain (27–28 May)
Round 3: Circuito de Navarra, Los Arcos, Spain (24–25 June)
Round 4: Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain (23-24 September)
Round 5: Circuito do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal (30 September - 1 October)
Round 6: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Cheste, Spain (14–15 October)
Round 7: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain (11–12 November)
In addition to a three-hour test drive, there will also be two free practice sessions, two qualifying sessions and three races on each race weekend. Races 1 and 3 were each extended by five minutes and race 2 by seven minutes compared to last year. On Saturday, there will be the first 15-minute qualifying session and the first 30-minute race. On Sunday there will be the second qualifying session and the remaining two races. Race 2 will last 25 minutes while race 3 will again be 30 minutes long. The starting grid for the first race will be determined by the best time set in the first qualifying session. For the second race, the starting grid will be determined by the second best lap time of qualifying 1. The third race will start in order of the qualifying 2 result.
In the first and third races, the same points are awarded to the top ten as in Formula 1. In addition, the driver on pole position receives two extra points and the driver with the fastest lap in the race receives one.
Race 1+3
25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
PP: 2, FL: 1
The shorter second race gives fewer points. Only the best eight still received points here. The winner receives 15 points. And there is also an extra point for the fastest race lap. However, there are no points for the pole position in race 2.
Race 2
15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
FL: 1
The Spanish F4 teams and drivers have completed several days of testing in the run-up to the 2023 season. Among other tracks, they spent two days at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. In addition, some teams and drivers took part in the Formula Winter Series or F4 UAE Championship in preparation for the season.
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
On the two days of testing in Belgium, all kinds of Formula 4 teams from various racing series were at the track. A total of 66 drivers were present. Here I only take into account the teams from Spanish F4, as drivers from other racing series are irrelevant for this preview. On the first day Campos Racing driver Christian Ho was fastest with a lap time of 2m22.648s. He was followed by Valerio Rinicella and Matteo De Palo. Monlau driver Ricardo Gracia completed the most laps with a total of 66 on the first day. Rinicella was the fastest driver from Spanish Formula 4 on the second day with 2m22.940s, ahead of Enzo Deligny and Théophile Naël. The busiest were Carl Bennett and Noah Lisle, who both completed 58 laps.
F4 Spain - Results Day 1:
P1: Christian Ho - Campos / 2m22.648s
P2: Valerio Rinicella - MP / +0.228s
P3: Matteo De Palo - Campos / +0.322s
P4: Théophile Naël - Saintéloc / +0.332s
P5: Andrés Cárdenas - Campos / +0.417s
P6: Enzo Deligny - Campos / +0.429s
P7: Noah Strømsted - Campos / +0.583s
P8: Jerónimo Berrío - MP / +0.585s
P9: Ricardo Gracia - Monlau / +0.844s
P10: Eric Gené - Tecnicar / +0.851s
F4 Spain - Results Day 2:
P1: Valerio Rinicella - MP / 2m22.940s
P2: Enzo Deligny - Campos / +0.030s
P3: Théophile Naël - Saintéloc / +0.063s
P4: Christian Ho - Campos / +0.159s
P5: Noah Strømsted - Campos / +0.171s
P6: Matteo De Palo - Campos / +0.332s
P7: Andrés Cárdenas - Campos / +0.396s
P8: Pedro Clerot - MP /+0.636s
P9: Jesse Carrasquedo - Campos / +0.857s
P10: Daniel Nogales - Drivex / +0.940s
As I already did last year, I dare to make a little prediction for this year's F4 Spain driver and team championships.
Drivers Championship Prediction
P1: Valerio Rinicella
P2: Christian Ho
P3: Noah Strømsted
P4: Pedro Clerot
P5: Matteo De Palo
The battle for the drivers' championship title is wide open this year. In addition to drivers in their second year such as Rinicella, Clerot, Ho or Strømsted, there are some rookies who can also compete at the top. For me, this includes drivers like Matteo De Palo, Enzo Deligny, Keanu Al-Azhari or Andrés Cárdenas. I expect that in the end a driver from one of the two teams from Campos or MP Motorsport will prevail. My favorite to win the title is Valerio Rinicella, who already made an impression last year and was the best non-Prema driver in the F4 UAE standings. A driver who could break the dominance of Campos and MP is Théophile Naël. He showed his skills both last year and at the beginning of the year in F4 UAE.
Teams Championship Prediction
P1: Campos Racing
P2: MP Motorsport
P3: Saintéloc Racing
As in previous years, no team is likely to be able to keep up with Campos and MP Motorsport. After Campos managed to bring MP Motorsport to its knees last year and win the title in the team standings, I believe that this year they will just slightly be ahead again. Behind them it will be exciting to see which team will secure third place in the final standings. Saintéloc, Monlau, Drivex and Tecnicar are all similarly strong. The difference in the end for me is Saintéloc driver Naël, to whom I attribute the best chances to break the dominance of Campos and MP most often.
written by Claudio Graf / 23th April 2023