The new season for the F4 Spanish Championship starts this weekend at the Circuito del Jarama near Madrid. In this preview article you will get an overview of all the teams and drivers competing this year, the race calendar with a number of new tracks, the pre-season tests and much more.
36 drivers from 10 different teams will take part in the first weekend at the Circuito del Jarama. More drivers are already known who will take part in the Spanish F4 Championship during the course of the year. In addition to Théophile Naël, last year's champion, many other drivers from last year will no longer be taking part in the racing series. These include Christian Ho, Valerio Rinicella, Enzo Deligny, Matteo De Palo, Pedro Clerot or Noah Strømsted. Among the drivers who will be back at the start this year are Keanu Al Azhari, Andrés Cárdenas or Griffin Peebles.
MP Motorsport
Griffin Peebles, Maciej Gładysz, René Lammers, Keanu Al Azhari, Lucas Fluxá, Mattia Colnaghi
The Dutch team from MP Motorsport will be competing with six drivers this year. In addition to two drivers who have already competed in the championship, there are four rookies in the team. Griffin Peebles competed with Tecnicar last year. His best result was a tenth place in the first race in Jerez. At the beginning of the year, the 16-year-old Australian really made a name for himself in the Formula Winter Series. With four wins and three further podium finishes from 14 races, he secured the drivers' championship title. 2024 will be Maciej Gładysz's first year in Formula 4. In the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year, the 16-year-old Pole shone with three podium finishes, six rookie victories and the rookie championship title. It will also be René Lammers' first season in Formula 4. The 15-year-old Dutchman is the reigning European champion and runner-up world champion in the OK category. At the beginning of the year, he took part in the Formula Winter Series, where his best result was a sixth place in Aragón. This will be Keanu Al Azhari's second year with MP in Spanish F4. The 16-year-old Emirati finished the previous season in ninth place. His best result was a third place at the season opener in Spa-Francorchamps. He won his first Formula 4 race at the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and finished the subsequent F4 UAE Championship in third place with two wins and five more podium finishes. Lucas Fluxá is contesting his Formula 4 rookie season this year. The 16-year-old from Palma de Mallorca made his debut at the beginning of the year in the Formula Winter Series, which he finished in 13th place. The brother of Lorenzo Fluxá finished in the top five twice in one race. The team is completed this year by last fall's Richard Mille shootout winner. Mattia Colnaghi also made his Formula 4 racing debut at the beginning of the year in the Formula Winter Series. The 15-year-old Italian finished in the points three times. Two seventh places in Jerez were his best results.
Drivex
Juan Cota, Matúš Ryba, Mikkel Pedersen, Francisco Macedo, Daniel Nogales
Drivex will be competing with five drivers on the first weekend of the year. Juan Cota already raced with Drivex in Spanish F4 last year. His best result was a fifth place in the last race of the season. The 16-year-old Spaniard also raced in the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year. There he managed to win his first Formula 4 race and finished another race on the podium. He finished the championship in sixth place. One of his team-mates this year is the Slovakian Matúš Ryba. The 16-year-old is contesting his first season in Formula 4 in 2024 and has mainly competed in karting in recent years. Although Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen is already contesting his second year in Formula 4, he got to know a new car at the start of the year. The Dane is the reigning champion of the Danish Formula 4, which he won last year with six victories and a total of eleven podium finishes from 21 races. In the Formula Winter Series, he finished second on the podium once in Jerez and ended the overall standings in eighth place. Francisco Macedo made his debut in the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year, where his best result was a 13th place in Barcelona. The 16-year-old Portuguese driver competed in various karting events last year. It was planned that Kevin Foster would drive the fifth car in Jarama. Unfortunately, this did not work out, so Drivex Eurocup 3 driver Daniel Nogales will step in. The Spaniard already contested races in Spanish F4 with the team in 2022 and 2023. His best result in the racing series to date was a sixth place in Navarra in 2022.
Campos Racing
Enzo Tarnvanichkul, Andrés Cárdenas, Jan Przyrowski, Ernesto Rivera, Nathan Tye, James Egozi
Like MP and Drivex, Campos Racing is fielding "two teams" this year and will start with six drivers. Red Bull Junior Enzo Tarnvanichkul is contesting his first races in Formula 4 this year. The 15-year-old Thai won the 2022 Karting World Championship in the OK Junior category, among others. At the beginning of the year, he also took part in the Formula Winter Series, where his best result was an eleventh place in the last race. His team-mate Andrés Cárdenas, on the other hand, already has experience in the Spanish F4 Championship. The 15-year-old Peruvian made his debut last year in Aragón and won his first race in Jerez, where he finished second on the podium once again. He also won two races in the Formula Winter Series at the start of the year, finished on the podium a further four times and ended the championship in second place. 2024 will be Polish driver Jan Przyrowski's first year in Formula 4. The 15-year-old's best result in the Formula Winter Series was a sixth place on the final weekend in Barcelona. During his time in karting, he was runner-up in the FIA European Karting Championship in the OK Junior category. Ernesto Rivera is also contesting his first season in Formula 4 this year. During his time in karting, he won several SKUSA events. The 15-year-old Mexican finished third on the podium once in Barcelona on his F4 debut in the Formula Winter Series. Nathan Tye also completed his first races in Formula 4 at the beginning of the year, with his best result being a fourth place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. During his time in karting, the 15-year-old Briton won the OK and OK Junior classes of the 2022 Champions of the Future races, among others. The team is completed by James Egozi. The 16-year-old American will be entering his second Formula 4 season in 2024. Last year, he mainly contested the Italian F4 with PHM Racing, where he finished the championship in 13th place and achieved his best result with fifth place in the first race at Le Castellet. He took his first two victories in the F4 CEZ at the Red Bull Ring. At the beginning of the year, he also won a race in the Formula Winter Series and was confirmed as a Red Bull Junior shortly afterwards.
Tecnicar Motorsport
Lorenzo Castillo, Wiktor Dobrzański, Gustaw Wiśniewski, Adam Al Azhari
The Spanish Tecnicar Motorsport team is starting the new year with three cars. Lorenzo Castillo was already part of the team in the Spanish F4 Championship last year. The Mexican joined the team halfway through the season and achieved his best result with 20th place in the last race at Barcelona. Things didn't go any better for him in the Formula Winter Series at the start of the year and 26th place at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo was his best result there. 2024 will be Wiktor Dobrzański's first year in Formula 4. The 17-year-old Pole contested the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year, where a 23rd place in Aragón was the best result for him. His Polish compatriot Gustaw Wiśniewski has so far only been confirmed for the first weekend. The 16-year-old is contesting his first Formula 4 races this weekend in Jarama. Previously, he also mainly competed in karting. Adam Al Azhari will also be competing for the team later this year. The 14-year-old Emirati is still waiting for his next birthday in June to be eligible to compete.
GRS Team
Douwe Dedecker, Kirill Kutskov, Jaden Pariat, Alexander Jacoby
The GRS Team will also start the new season with three cars. Douwe Dedecker already contested Formula 4 races last year and mainly competed in British F4. He once finished second on the podium in the reversed grid race at Oulton Park. In the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year, he also secured his first podium finish with the GRS Team, coming third at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Kirill Kutskov and Jaden Pariat will be his team-mates on the first weekend. The 15-year-old Russian Kutskov made his F4 debut at the beginning of the year in the F4 Saudi Arabia Championship, where he won one race and finished on the podium seven further times. He finished the championship in third place. He also recently won a race with Jenzer in the F4 CEZ at Balaton Park in the Czech Republic. The reigning FIA World Karting champion in the OK category is still looking for sponsors for a full season in Formula 4. Jaden Pariat mainly competed in British F4 last year. His best result was a third place in the reversed grid race at the season opener at Donington Park. Alexander Jacoby will also make his Formula 4 debut with the team later this year. Last year, the American was still mainly competing in karting at SKUSA events.
Saintéloc Racing
Yevan David, Maximiliano Restrepo, Matteo Quintarelli
Saintéloc Racing, which won the drivers' championship title last year with Théophile Naël, has signed three new drivers for this season. Yevan David is contesting his first F4 races this year and made his debut in the F4 UAE Championship earlier this year. The 16-year-old from Sri Lanka was runner-up at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games in the Karting Senior category. His best F4 UAE result was an eleventh place at the Yas Marina Circuit. His team-mate Maximiliano Restrepo is contesting his second year in Formula 4 in 2024. The 18-year-old Colombian is still waiting for his first points in Spanish F4. His best F4 result so far was a 19th place in F4 UAE at the beginning of the year. The French team is completed by Matteo Quintarelli. Last year, the 16-year-old mainly took part in Italian F4, where he was never able to finish in the points. At the beginning of the year, he took part in F4 UAE, where he regularly finished in the points and achieved his best Formula 4 result to date with fourth place at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Cram Motorsport
Flavio Olivieri, Filippo Fiorentino, Ádám Hideg
The Italian Cram Motorsport team will be competing in the Spanish F4 for the third time after 2022 and 2023. Flavio Olivieri was already part of the team last year, but missed the first weekend at the Circuito del Jarama. At the end of last season, the 16-year-old Italian finished eighth and tenth in Barcelona to score his first points in the championship. His best result in the Formula Winter Series at the beginning of the year was a seventh place, also in Barcelona. One of his team-mates this year is Filippo Fiorentino. The Brazilian made his Formula 4 debut at the beginning of the year in the Formula Winter Series, where two 13th places were his best results. He also recently took part in the second round of the Brazilian F4 in Interlagos, where he secured his first F4 race win. Ádám Hideg also contested his first Formula 4 races with Jenzer in the Formula Winter Series. The 16-year-old Hungarian finished sixth and ninth in the points on two occasions.
Monlau Motorsport
Tim Gerhards, Rehan Hakim, Lenny Ried
Monlau Motorsport is tackling the new season with three rookies. Tim Gerhards made his Formula 4 debut at the beginning of the year in six Formula Winter Series races. The 16-year-old Dutchman's best result was a 12th place at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. His team-mate Rehan Hakim from India will contest his first ever Formula 4 races next weekend. The team is completed by Lenny Ried. During his time in karting, the German won the ADAC Kart Masters in the OK category in 2022, among others. He also made his F4 debut at the beginning of the year in the Formula Winter Series, where his best result was a 17th place finish at MotorLand Aragón.
Rodin Motorsport
Preston Lambert, Thomas Strauven, Peter Bouzinelos
Rodin Motorsport is tackling the new season with three new drivers. Preston Lambert made his Formula 4 debut with the team in the Formula Winter Series. The 16-year-old American's best result was a 16th place in Aragón. His team-mate Thomas Strauven is also contesting his first season in Formula 4 this year. The 16-year-old Belgian made his debut in the championship last year in Jerez, where he finished 13th in the third race. At the beginning of the year, he also took part in the Formula Winter Series, which he finished eleventh with one win and a total of 30 points. The team is completed by Peter Bouzinelos, who has so far only been confirmed for the first weekend. The Australian made his Formula 4 debut at the end of last year in F4 SEA, where he finished third on the podium at the season finale in Sepang. He also competed in the F4 UAE Championship at the beginning of the year, where his best result was a 19th place at the Yas Marina Circuit.
TC Racing
Gabriel Gómez, Cristian Cantú
TC Racing was founded by Belgian football goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with the support of former Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi and is contesting its debut season with two drivers. Mexican Cristian Cantú has been competing in the F4 NACAM Championship in his home country for two years. As a rookie he finished sixth and last year he was runner-up with seven wins, nine more podium finishes and three pole positions. His teammate Gabriel Gomez was Brazilian champion in the OK Junior category during his career in karting and was also Italian champion in the OK category and CIK-FIA European runner-up. On his debut in car racing, he finished 16th in the Spanish F4 final in Barcelona in 2023.
The 2024 season of F4 Spain includes 21 races spread across seven race tracks. There have been some changes to the calendar compared to last year. The circuits in Spa-Francorchamps, Navarra and Estoril are no longer included. They will be replaced by the events at Circuito del Jarama, Algarve International Circuit and Circuit Paul Ricard.
Round 1: Circuito del Jarama, Madrid, Spain (10-12 May)
Round 2: Algarve International Circuit, Portimão, Portugal (7-9 June)
Round 3: Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France (5-7 July)
Round 4: MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz, Spain (26–28 July)
Round 5: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Cheste, Spain (13-15 September)
Round 6: Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain (4-6 October)
Round 7: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain (8-10 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. 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
Once again this year, all races of the F4 Spanish Championship will be streamed live on their YouTube and Twitch channels.
In preparation for the new season, four test days were held at two different racetracks in San Sebastián de los Reyes and Portimão. In addition, the Spanish F4 is cooperating with the Formula Winter Series from this year onwards, giving the teams and drivers the opportunity for more testing and racing in February and March. This year, Griffin Peebles won the Formula Winter Series with four victories and three more podium finishes. Andrés Cárdenas, Juan Cota, Keanu Al Azhari, Thomas Strauven and James Egozi also took race wins in the winter series.
Madrid
The Circuito del Jarama, where the season opener will take place, was used for testing over two days at the end of April. The circuit is located in San Sebastián de los Reyes, 20 km north of the Spanish capital Madrid. Due to the large number of participants (36 drivers), they were divided into two groups so that there was more space on the track. The fastest driver on the first day was Mattia Colnaghi from MP Motorsport. His time was beaten on the second day by Jan Przyrowski, who set the fastest lap of both days with a 1m31.174s. Behind him were Thomas Strauven, Mattia Colnaghi, James Egozi and Tim Gerhards. With a total of 178 laps, Christian Garduno from the new TC Racing team was the busiest driver over the two days of testing.
Day 1 & 2 Combined - Overall Results:
P1: Jan Przyrowski - Campos / 1m31.174s
P2: Thomas Strauven - Rodin / +0.175s
P3: Mattia Colnaghi - MP / +0.260s
P4: James Egozi - Campos / +0.357s
P5: Tim Gerhards - Monlau / +0.361s
P6: Andrés Cárdenas - Campos / +0.391s
P7: Ernesto Rivera - Campos / +0.400s
P8: René Lammers - MP / +0.402s
P9: Nathan Tye - Campos / +0.418s
P10: Matteo Quintarelli - Saintéloc / +0.434s
Portimão
However, the first tests after the Formula Winter Series took place at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão. The Portuguese track will host round two of the season on June 7-9. The fastest driver on the first day was Griffin Peebles with a 1m45.013s, just 0.089 seconds ahead of Juan Cota and 0.095 ahead of Thomas Strauven. On the second day, Lucas Fluxá finally set the best time of both days with a 1m44.576s. This was just 0.004 seconds faster than his MP Motorsport teammate Griffin Peebles. With Keanu Al Azhari and Mattia Colnaghi in third and fourth place, MP Motorsport almost dominated the test days. Rehan Hakim collected the most laps on both days with a total of 159.
Day 1 & 2 Combined - Overall Results:
P1: Lucas Fluxá - MP / 1m44.576s
P2: Griffin Peebles - MP / +0.004s
P3: Keanu Al Azhari - MP / +0.101s
P4: Mattia Colnaghi - MP / +0.165s
P5: Thomas Strauven - Rodin / +0.168s
P6: Andrés Cárdenas - Campos / +0.184s
P7: Nathan Tye - Campos / +0.200s
P8: Jan Przyrowski - Campos / +0.269s
P9: René Lammers - MP / +0.292s
P10: Maciej Gładysz - MP / +0.302s
As I already did last year, I dare to make a little prediction for this year's F4 Spanish driver and team championships.
Drivers Championship Prediction
P1: James Egozi
P2: Keanu Al Azhari
P3: Griffin Peebles
P4: Andrés Cárdenas
P5: Thomas Strauven
The drivers' championship in the Spanish F4 Championship promises to be exciting again this year. With Griffin Peebles, Keanu Al Azhari, Andrés Cárdenas and James Egozi, there are several contenders for the title. In addition, rookies such as René Lammers, Nathan Tye, Maciej Gładysz and Thomas Strauven could quickly catch up with the leaders. My tip falls on James Egozi this year, who has already proven his talent here and there. However, the probability that I'm wrong is pretty high. In addition to the drivers already mentioned, I also believe that drivers such as Enzo Tarnvanichkul, Jan Przyrowski, Mikkel Pedersen, Lucas Fluxá, Mattia Colnaghi, Juan Cota, Kirill Kutskov or Ernesto Rivera can fight for podium places in the course of the year.
Teams Championship Prediction
P1: MP Motorsport
P2: Campos
P3: Rodin Motorsport
The battle for the team championship title will most likely be decided between MP Motorsport and Campos again this year. I think MP Motorsport will come out on top by a wafer-thin margin, just like last season. Behind them, the battle for third place will be very exciting. For me, Rodin Motorsport, Drivex, Saintéloc Racing and Monlau Motorsport, have a chance of snatching this place in the final standings.
written by Claudio Graf / 9th May 2024