Jacob Micallef and Vivek Kanthan claim podium finishes at Jarama
The fourth round of the F4 Spain season came to a close this past weekend at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama – RACE, with two drivers from the Alzira-based squad securing podium finishes. Campos Racing’s Jacob Micallef claimed his first overall podium in the category, with the Maltese driver delivering an excellent performance at the circuit in the Spanish capital. Vivek Kanthan was Griffin Core by Campos’ leading representative, with the American also securing a podium finish and completing the weekend with another valuable fourth place.
Noah Monteiro was consistently part of the leading group fighting for the podium and, although the Griffin Core by Campos driver was unable to achieve it on this occasion, the Portuguese driver left Jarama with some extremely important points to remain firmly in contention for the F4 title.
Campos Racing’s Irish driver Daniel Kelleher also took another step forward in terms of competitive performance, delivering a strong showing throughout the entire meeting. Ty Fisher of Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing’s Luna Fluxá were less fortunate on this occasion, with different circumstances preventing them from finishing in the points-scoring positions.
Saturday morning’s free practice sessions were marked by an extremely close field, with as many as 26 drivers setting laps within the same second. They were followed at midday by the first qualifying session, which would determine the starting grids for the first and second races. A red flag with six and a half minutes remaining disrupted the initial plans of drivers and engineers to some extent. As usual, the fastest times were set in the closing minutes. Kanthan placed third with a lap of 1m33.179s, just ahead of Micallef, who was fourth with a 1m33.258s. Monteiro was unable to find the couple of tenths required to move further up the order, but the Portuguese driver still qualified eighth with a best lap of 1m33.355s. Kelleher, 14th; Fisher, 17th; and Fluxá, 23rd, completed the Alzira-based squad’s line-up for the opening race.
As for each driver’s second-best lap, which determined the starting grid for the second race, Kanthan once again secured third place with a 1m33.290s. Monteiro was sixth this time with a 1m33.357s, while Micallef qualified eighth with a 1m33.439s. Kelleher was 11th with a personal best of 1m33.607s. Fisher and Fluxá would start 20th and 21st respectively.
The first race, scheduled for 30 minutes and held on Saturday afternoon, produced plenty of action from the outset. When the lights went out, Micallef held third place, while Kanthan lost several positions after running slightly wide onto the gravel on the outside at Varzi. Monteiro made a strong start and completed the opening lap in seventh place, just as the safety car was deployed to clear the track following an incident. However, fortune was not on Monteiro’s side, as he had clipped the inside kerb at one of the corners and damaged his front wing, forcing him to pit for a replacement and effectively ending his hopes of a strong result. The race was only able to resume for one lap before the safety car returned following another car running into the gravel. Racing resumed after seven laps, with Micallef running a solid third, while Kanthan had already recovered two positions to move up to seventh. The race was neutralised once again following an accident involving three cars. After 17 laps, Micallef secured the final step of the podium, while Kanthan finished sixth. Kelleher and Fisher fought their way up to 12th and 13th respectively, with Monteiro, following his pit stop, and Fluxá finishing further down the order.
Sunday began with the second qualifying session, which would set the grid for the third and final race of the meeting. Once again, the session was characterised by extremely close margins, with Kanthan emerging as Griffin Core by Campos’ leading representative. The American stopped the clock at 1m32.504s, which was enough for fourth place. Monteiro was eighth with a best lap of 1m32.726s. Outside the top ten were Micallef in 12th, Kelleher in 14th, Fisher in 17th and Fluxá in 21st.
The second race, initially scheduled for 25 minutes plus one lap, was expected to be the shortest race of the weekend. However, it ultimately proved to be the longest. The race procedure was already delayed due to an incident that forced Fluxá to start from the pit lane. When the lights went out, one car stopped on track and was hit by one of the drivers starting further back. Although the drivers were fortunately unharmed, Race Control was forced to red-flag the race to clear fluids spilled onto the track following the accident. After 20 minutes, the race resumed behind the safety car, with just 12 minutes remaining. However, a succession of incidents would leave the drivers with very little racing time. Despite this, Kanthan was running third, with Monteiro fifth. Micallef and Kelleher also made excellent progress, with the two Campos Racing youngsters running seventh and eighth. The field only began to spread out in the closing stages, although the race ended under neutralisation, with Kanthan ultimately securing third place. Monteiro finished fifth, while Micallef also scored points in seventh. A five-second penalty prevented Kelleher from joining them, dropping the Irish driver to 17th, three places behind Fisher. Fluxá finished 27th.
The third and final race, scheduled for 30 minutes, was no less challenging to manage. At the start, another car stalled and was once again hit from behind by a rival, immediately prompting the deployment of the safety car. After just over ten minutes behind the safety car, it returned to the pits with Kanthan fourth and Monteiro eighth. However, barely one lap later, another incident, which eliminated Fluxá from the race, forced the safety car back onto the track. It would return for a third and final time before the green flags finally flew uninterrupted with two minutes remaining. At the chequered flag, Kanthan crossed the line in fourth place. Monteiro initially finished fifth, although the stewards subsequently handed him a two-place penalty, leaving him seventh in the final classification. Kelleher was ninth, with the Irish driver once again securing a points finish. Micallef and Fisher were close behind in 13th and 14th respectively.
Following the Jarama round, Monteiro lies fourth in the drivers’ standings with 116 points, tied on points with the driver in third. Kanthan is eighth with 70 points. In the teams’ standings, Griffin Core by Campos remains third with 150 points.
The championship’s next round will take the field to the Circuito de Jerez on 25–27 September.
