Noah Monteiro resumes the F4 Spain title fight as championship leader at Jarama
The summer break is over and, after more than two months away from the track, the F4 Spain engines will fire back into life for the fourth round of the season. The entire Spanish F4 championship field will travel to the Circuito de Madrid-Jarama RACE, located on the outskirts of the capital, for three exciting races.
Although the past few weeks have been spent away from the circuits, they have certainly not been quiet when it comes to preparation. All members of the Alzira-based team have continued working throughout the break to ensure they are fully prepared for the resumption of competition. Griffin Core by Campos will once again be represented on track by Noah Monteiro, Ty Fisher and Vivek Kanthan, while Jacob Micallef, Daniel Kelleher and Luna Fluxá will fly the Campos Racing colours.
Monteiro arrives at Jarama as the championship leader. The young Portuguese talent has scored 100 points after nine races, having finished in the points in eight of them. Monteiro also secured his best result of the season immediately before the summer break, finishing third at MotorLand Aragón and adding two fourth-place finishes that same weekend. Three third places at Cheste and another podium in the Algarve have allowed him to build a six-point advantage over his closest rival as he heads to Madrid at the top of a fiercely contested championship.
His team-mates Fisher and Kanthan head into the fourth round of the championship with renewed confidence. Fisher is ninth in the standings and has narrowly missed out on a podium finish on several occasions so far. The Canadian scored two fourth-place finishes at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, repeated the result in Portugal and added another top-five finish at Alcañiz. As for Kanthan, the American won the third and final race in Valencia and, despite luck eluding him since then, he will aim to show his best form on track and climb further up the standings.
Micallef is enjoying an impressive debut in the category. The Maltese driver has already stood on the Rookie classification podium and has scored points on four occasions, with sixth place his best result to date. However, his standout achievement was undoubtedly securing pole position in Portimão, a clear indication of what may still lie ahead.
Kelleher also showed glimpses of his quality during the first half of the season. The Irishman finished sixth at Cheste and has two further ninth-place finishes to his name, with plenty of opportunities still ahead to continue improving. The same objective applies to Fluxá, with the Spanish driver scoring her first points at MotorLand and now looking to build on that result and continue her progress.
In the teams’ standings, Griffin Core by Campos occupies third place with 134 points.
Jarama promises to be a tough test for all the drivers. Built in 1966 and opened the following year, the Madrid venue is a true old-school circuit. Just under four kilometres long, its twisty nature has always made overtaking difficult, particularly with a single-seater. Nevertheless, the Nuvolari-Fangio and Bugatti corners provide two of the circuit’s defining braking zones for those willing to take the risk. With high temperatures still expected, tyre management is likely to be a critical factor.
The weekend schedule will begin on Saturday with free practice, with FP1 taking place at 11:30 and FP2 at 12:10. The first qualifying session will take place at 14:40. Race 1, which will consist of 30 minutes + 1 lap, will get underway at 17:00. On Sunday, the drivers will take to the track at 10:00 for the second qualifying session, with Race 2 (25 minutes + 1 lap) scheduled for 11:50. The third and final race will get underway at 14:20 and will consist of 30 minutes + 1 lap. All the action can be followed via the championship’s official YouTube channel live stream. All times are local Spanish time.
Adrián Campos (Team Principal of Campos Racing): “We are looking forward to getting back to racing after this break and doing so at Jarama, a circuit with so much history and one that all our drivers know very well. Noah arrives as the championship leader, which is a reflection of the great job he is doing, but the gap to his rivals is small and we will need to remain fully focused from the very first practice session. Ty and Vivek also have room to take another step forward and fight for strong positions, while with Jacob, Daniel and Luna our objective will be to continue seeing the progress they showed during the first half of the season. We have used these weeks to keep working and make sure we are ready for the second part of the championship, so we hope to demonstrate that from the very first moment at Jarama.”
