Monteiro Stays on the Podium to Keep Title Hopes Alive as Kelleher and Kanthan Also Claim Podiums
The penultimate round of the 2026 F4 Spain season at Circuito de Navarra yielded positive results for both Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing. Noah Monteiro and Vivek Kanthan, representing Griffin Core by Campos, secured podium finishes at Los Arcos, while their teammate Ty Fisher added further points to his tally. For Campos Racing, Daniel Kelleher enjoyed an outstanding weekend, not only securing his first overall podium in the category but also recording two fourth-place finishes. Luna Fluxá, also racing for Campos Racing, returned to the points, having previously achieved the same feat at MotorLand Aragón. Meanwhile, Jacob Micallef was hampered by his starting positions, particularly on Saturday, and by an incident on Sunday that prevented him from finishing among the points-scoring drivers.
The revamped Navarra circuit hosted two additional test days during the week to help the drivers adapt to the track. Kelleher immediately demonstrated that he is ending the season in strong form, finishing second in the overall timesheets on the opening day with a lap of 1m46.888s. Monteiro and Fluxá also finished among the top ten. Rain affected the second day, but Kelleher once again secured second place with a time of 1m47.330s, while Monteiro finished fourth with a reported time of 1m47.489s. Fluxá in sixth, Micallef in seventh and Fisher in eighth further underlined the competitiveness of the team heading into the race weekend.
Friday featured no fewer than three additional free practice sessions, with Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing maintaining their strong form. Micallef, Monteiro and Kanthan occupied fourth to sixth positions in the morning session, while Kelleher finished eighth. In the second session, Kanthan, Kelleher and Monteiro remained among the frontrunners. In the final session of the day, Portuguese driver Monteiro climbed to second place with a lap of 1m46.614s. As in the previous session, both Kanthan, in sixth, and Kelleher, in tenth, demonstrated their competitiveness in varying conditions.
The first major test came on Saturday morning with the opening qualifying session, held in relatively low track temperatures. With thirty-six cars on track, traffic and luck were set to play a decisive role in securing an optimal lap. However, two red flags at crucial moments disrupted some of the best laps from the Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing drivers. Nevertheless, Kanthan stopped the clock at 1m46.537s to secure fifth place. Kelleher lined up alongside him in sixth, having posted a lap of 1m46.801s. Monteiro completed the top ten with a time of 1m46.976s, immediately ahead of Fluxá, who qualified eleventh to achieve her best qualifying result to date. Fisher was twelfth, while Micallef was the driver most severely affected by the red flags and could manage no better than 29th. Each driver's second-fastest lap determined the starting grid for the afternoon race. Kanthan secured third place with a time of 1m46.810s, while Kelleher again lined up alongside him, this time in fourth, thanks to a lap of 1m46.823s. Fisher and Monteiro qualified seventh and ninth, respectively. Fluxá was set to start from 18th, with Micallef lining up 32nd.
The first race of the weekend, scheduled shortly before midday on Saturday and lasting thirty minutes, featured an unusual procedure. Reduced visibility due to the prevailing light conditions led race control to opt for a rolling start behind the safety car rather than the traditional standing start. The safety car returned to the pits on lap two, allowing the race to get underway.
Kanthan initially battled for a podium position and put Rocco Coronel under pressure, but gradually lost a few places as the race progressed. Monteiro and Kelleher passed him to move into fifth and sixth. Both the Portuguese and the Irishman then attempted to close the gap to the drivers fighting for the podium. Kelleher eventually overtook Monteiro and crossed the finish line fifth after eighteen laps. Monteiro secured sixth place, adding points that could prove crucial in the championship battle. Fisher finished tenth to claim the final point on offer, while Kanthan came home twelfth after contact. Fluxá had fought near the front for much of the race but dropped down the order following a track-limits penalty and had to settle for 23rd. Micallef encountered a similar situation and finished 30th.
Saturday's second race, which lasted twenty-five minutes, also began with a rolling start. Kanthan immediately put Coronel under pressure in an attempt to take second place. However, an incident that eliminated Fisher and several other drivers prompted the deployment of the safety car. After five minutes behind it, and owing to delays in the recovery operations, race control opted to red-flag the race. The action resumed fifteen minutes later. Once the safety car returned to the pits, the race was reduced to a brief sprint of just five minutes.
Kanthan remained close behind Coronel all the way to the chequered flag. However, given the difficulty of overtaking at Los Arcos, the American retained second place, leaving the Griffin Core by Campos driver to secure the final step on the podium. Kelleher finished immediately behind him in fourth after defending his position against Borys Łyżeń. Monteiro returned to the points with an eighth-place finish. Fluxá remained close to the top ten and finished twelfth, while also being the highest-placed female driver. Micallef, meanwhile, used the brief remaining racing time to produce an impressive recovery to 22nd.
Sunday dawned cold and overcast, with track temperatures failing to reach even 15°C. With the title fight still wide open, Monteiro knew that a strong qualifying result was essential. The Portuguese driver remained in contention for pole position until the very end and secured second place at the conclusion of the fifteen-minute session with a lap of 1m46.316s. Kelleher posted the sixth-fastest time at 1m46.490s, while Kanthan qualified eighth with a lap of 1m46.617s. Fisher finished eleventh in 1m46.706s, while Micallef and Fluxá ended the session 13th and 15th, respectively, with times of 1m46.822s and 1m46.928s.
The weekend's third and final race, scheduled over thirty minutes, returned to a traditional standing start. When the lights went out, Monteiro made an excellent getaway and tucked in behind Kasper Schormans, his title rival. Kelleher also made a strong start, moving into fourth behind Jensen Burnett. At the end of the opening lap, Kanthan, Fisher and Micallef were running in formation from eighth to tenth.
At the front, Monteiro remained less than half a second behind Schormans, attempting to force his rival into a mistake as the leading pair pulled away from the chasing pack. Recognising the situation, Kelleher overtook Burnett to move into third and began closing in on Schormans and Monteiro. On lap eight, the Portuguese driver was still right behind Schormans, just three tenths of a second adrift, while Kelleher was also running only a few tenths behind his teammate.
On lap eleven, Micallef overtook Nacho Tuñón to climb to eighth place. With six minutes remaining, Schormans ran slightly wide at Turn 3, renewing Monteiro's hopes of taking the lead. The Griffin Core by Campos driver looked to the inside on several occasions, but as the race entered its closing stages, tyre wear began to take its toll. Monteiro abandoned further attempts and crossed the finish line in second place. Kelleher secured third, recording his best result to date in F4 Spain.
Micallef, who was closing in on the points, became involved in an incident with Tuñón that sent both drivers off track. Although the Maltese driver managed to rejoin, he had lost several positions in the process. Kanthan eventually finished seventh, while Fluxá and Fisher crossed the line ninth and tenth, respectively.
With just three races remaining in the championship, Monteiro sits second in the drivers' standings on 203 points. Kanthan is sixth with 118 points, while Kelleher has moved into the top ten overall with 72 points. In the teams' standings, Griffin Core by Campos occupies second place on 283 points, while Campos Racing sits sixth with 98.
The championship will conclude on 7–8 November at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where the 2026 title will be decided.
