The past weekend marked the first of seven rounds of the Spanish F4 2024 season, and it was a good one. The playground for the week was the Jarama racetrack just north of Madrid, which always ensures a formula of excitement.
Qualifying
The MP team got used to the track really quick during the qualifying sessions. It didn’t take long for one of our drivers to secure the first pole position of the season. Lucas convincingly took pole after an amazing lap in his debut session of the Spanish F4. Fellow rookie Mattia followed in his footsteps the next day by setting his first ever single seater pole position in the second qualifying session!
Race 1
After a clean opening lap, Lucas remained on the pole due to great defending. Keanu sadly lost a position and was fighting to get back to P2. In the midfield, both, Maciej, René, and Mattia were gaining positions and ended up in the points by finishing P5, P6 and P8 consecutively. Griffin fought back but just missed out on points after ending on the thirteenth position. Lucas and Keanu were busy defending and attacking in the front of the grid, last-mentioned got back his P2 where he started at. A red flag was given due to a car stuck in the gravel, which led to the session not resuming. This could only mean one thing; a 1-2 finish for MP in the first race of the season!
Race 2
After an amazing qualifying session in the morning by Mattia and Lucas, the two rookies started the second race on the front row. But in the first corner, it all went wrong. A big crash caused our drivers not to be able to finish the race. Maciej managed to get a spot on the podium, finishing on P2. Keanu made a great move in the final lap, which meant P3 for him! René fought back to a point finish at P9, Griffin finished the MP grid at P24.
Race 3
New race, and a new chance for the two pole sitters this weekend. The third and final race of the weekend was defined by Safety Cars, which were caused by a car stuck in the gravel in the first corner a total of three times. Just like the first race, Keanu, René, and Maciej overtook a ton of drivers which led them to finish P10, P12, and P13. Lucas took P1 from Mattia in the first lap, which he kept until the end of the race. Sadly, a Red Flag was called because Lucas got hit and ended up in the gravel. The final results were taken two laps back, which ultimately meant a second-race win for the young Spaniard! Unfortunately, Mattia got penalised due to a collision and ended the race as seventeenth.
Overall a great start to the season, clocking in two wins and multiple podium finishes. Lots to learn and take with us to the next race in Spanish F4, which will be the first foreign race. Battlefield for the second round is the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão and starts on the 7th of June.
Standings after the first round of racing:
P1 Lucas – 52 points
P3 Keanu – 33 points
P4 Maciej – 25 points
P11 René – 10 points
P15 Mattia – 6 points
P20 Griffin – 0 points
Team standings after the first round of racing
P1 – 107 points
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