Monteiro claims F4 Spain podium finish at home event in the Algarve
The Algarve International Circuit, venue of the second round of the F4 Spain season, once again witnessed intense wheel-to-wheel racing and battles decided by the smallest of margins. Not all of them worked in favour of the Alzira-based team’s drivers. Nevertheless, all six drivers delivered strong performances, even if the results did not always reflect their pace. Racing in front of his home crowd, Portuguese driver Noah Monteiro secured his fourth podium finish of the season in just six races. The Griffin Core by Campos driver came close to repeating the feat on Sunday before his chances disappeared on the final lap. Team-mates Ty Fisher and Vivek Kanthan were also among the front-runners, with the Canadian claiming a fourth-place finish and the American a fifth-place result. On the Campos Racing side, Jacob Micallef was one of the standout performers, as the Maltese driver secured an impressive pole position and scored his first points in the category. Daniel Kelleher and Luna Fluxá also showed the pace to do the same, but circumstances during the races prevented them from converting their speed into stronger results.
Across the two free practice sessions held on Friday, Kelleher emerged as the fastest driver thanks to a lap of 1m45.549s. Monteiro, highly motivated in front of his home fans, was third with a best time of 1m45.654s, just forty thousandths quicker than Fisher. Kanthan (1m45.875s) finished sixth fastest, while Micallef and Fluxá ended the day eleventh and twelfth respectively with laps of 1m46.026s and 1m46.053s.
The first qualifying session, which opened competitive action on Saturday morning, saw Monteiro and Fisher emerge as two of the leading contenders for pole position. In the end, however, Micallef stole the spotlight, the Maltese driver producing a stunning final effort of 1m45.073s to secure pole by just six thousandths of a second. It could hardly have been any closer. Monteiro and Fisher qualified third and fourth with laps of 1m45.173s and 1m45.214s respectively. Kanthan and Kelleher shared the fourth row of the grid after posting times of 1m45.272s and 1m45.286s. Fluxá, meanwhile, qualified fifteenth with a best effort of 1m45.580s.
The opening race, held at midday on Saturday, proved fiercely contested from start to finish. When the lights went out, Micallef lost several positions off the line. Monteiro, meanwhile, moved into second place behind Borys Łyżeń. At the end of the opening lap, Micallef was fourth, Fisher sixth and Kelleher tenth. However, an incident involving Fluxá, although she was able to continue, left significant carbon fibre debris scattered across the circuit. This initially triggered a safety car period and shortly afterwards a red flag to allow marshals to clear the track properly. Once racing resumed, another incident forced the safety car back onto the circuit, with Micallef among those affected as he had to make a pit stop. Green flag conditions finally returned on lap eight. Amid the chaos and constantly changing positions, Kanthan was one of the main beneficiaries in the early stages, climbing as high as fourth. However, after a dramatic final lap, Fisher emerged as the best-placed Griffin Core by Campos driver, taking fourth place at the chequered flag. Kanthan and Monteiro finished seventh and eighth respectively, collecting valuable championship points. Kelleher, who initially crossed the finish line in fourth place, received a five-second penalty that dropped him outside the points. Following their respective incidents, Micallef and Fluxá finished further down the order.
The sprint race took place later that afternoon. Scheduled for 25 minutes, it featured Monteiro on pole position thanks to a lap of 1m45.163s. Fisher in fifth, Micallef in eighth and Kelleher in ninth also started among the contenders for podium positions. When the race got underway, Monteiro retained the lead ahead of Łyżeń. The safety car was deployed after just one lap. Racing resumed two laps later and Monteiro handled the restart perfectly, maintaining the lead at a circuit and in a category where leading can be a disadvantage because of the powerful slipstream effect on the main straight. It was on lap five that Łyżeń managed to overtake Monteiro for the lead, making full use of the slipstream. Another safety car period compressed the field once more, reducing the race to just two laps after the restart. In a race where several drivers had a realistic chance of victory, Monteiro ultimately secured third place and another valuable podium finish for Griffin Core by Campos. Micallef was the leading Campos Racing driver in eighth position, just ahead of team-mate Kelleher. Fisher and Kanthan followed in tenth and eleventh places respectively. Fluxá crossed the line further down the field.
On Sunday, Monteiro came agonisingly close to claiming pole position in the second qualifying session. The Portuguese driver ended up third, but his lap of 1m45.325s was only twenty thousandths of a second shy of the benchmark time. Fisher secured seventh place on the grid with a lap of 1m45.461s, while Micallef continued his strong form in the Algarve by qualifying tenth with a time of 1m45.548s. Immediately behind him were Kanthan and Kelleher with laps of 1m45.620s and 1m45.661s respectively. Fluxá lined up slightly further back after recording a best lap of 1m46.042s.
The start of the third race was eventful, with Monteiro successfully avoiding a first-lap incident at the head of the field that eliminated one of the favourites. Fisher and Kanthan moved into fifth and sixth positions respectively, while Micallef held tenth place. After an early safety car intervention, race control soon displayed the red flags. Once the race resumed behind the safety car, there was little time for uninterrupted action before another neutralisation followed. Two further safety car periods tested the drivers’ concentration, with the final restart coming with only one lap remaining. It was on that last lap that Monteiro, while running third, was forced off the track by a rival, dropping him to the back of the classification and ending his hopes of another podium finish. Amid a race marked by numerous penalties throughout Sunday afternoon, Kanthan was ultimately classified ninth. Kelleher finished eleventh, while the remaining drivers ended the race further down the order.
The next round of the championship will take place in just two weeks’ time at MotorLand Aragón.
