The sixth round of the 2024 F4 Spanish Championship was expected to be crucial in the title fight, and it didn't disappoint with a double victory from Mattia Colnaghi, who closed the gap to 13 points behind the leader, his teammate Keanu Al Azhari.
The young Italian approached the weekend in Jerez with determination and, from the start, showed his good feeling with the Andalusian circuit, although Al Azhari struck first, securing Pole Position for Races 1 and 2.
However, the resolution of an appeal regarding the results of race 1 at Motorland caused the Emirati driver to lose 3 grid positions (a penalty he received at that event), though he regained the 15 points for his P3 finish, which had been taken away after a 10-second penalty (now removed).
As a result, Colnaghi inherited pole position for race 1 and didn’t waste the opportunity.
The young Italian held off a determined Juan Cota, who has been on great form since the summer break, and also managed to keep another title contender, Poland’s Maciej Gladysz, at bay, who would eventually finish third. Behind them, Keanu Al Azhari minimized damage with a fifth-place finish, which, combined with the recovered points from Motorland, made him leave race 1 with an even stronger lead than before the event started.
Ernesto Rivera (Griffin Core by Campos), James Egozi (Campos Racing), René Lammers (MP Motorsport), Lucas Fluxá (KCL by MP Motorsport), Thomas Strauven (Rodin Motorsport), and Griffin Peebles (MP Motorsport) completed the top 10 in this first race of the weekend.
Keanu always comes back
Sunday morning began with Mattia Colnaghi securing his fourth Pole Position in F4, aiming to shine in Jerez. In the second race of the weekend, Keanu Al Azhari had a chance to redeem himself from the first race, and the leader didn’t falter.
He secured his fourth win of the season and delivered a commanding performance, also taking the fastest lap in the short race. Behind him were his two main challengers: Maciej Gladysz and Mattia Colnaghi, who both earned valuable points for KCL by MP Motorsport in their direct battle with their garage teammates for the team title.
Following the trio from the Dutch squad was an impeccable Juan Cota in fourth, holding off James Egozi. Ernesto Rivera, Jan Przyrowski, Griffin Peebles, and Thomas Strauven rounded out the points-scoring positions.
Mattia will fight until the end
Race 3 started with uncertainty after a heavy crash at the start involving Ernesto Rivera, who stalled his car, and Cristian Cantú and Maxi Restrepo, who couldn’t avoid crashing into him after finding him stopped on the track.
After several minutes spent cleaning the track, and with all drivers in perfect condition, the race resumed following the Safety Car with two minutes reduced from the total time.
Mattia Colnaghi defended his Pole well at the start and did the same at the restart, setting a strong pace on fresh tires, his ace up his sleeve for the final race of the weekend.
Behind him, Thomas Strauven tried to fend off an aggressive Juan Cota, who found a gap in the last corner, launching an attack where the Belgian didn’t expect it. Both drivers went side by side down the main straight, even making contact, but ultimately, the Spaniard gained the position by braking late into turn 1.
Cota gradually pulled away, though without any chance of catching Colnaghi. Behind them, Strauven managed to hold off Jan Przyrowski, who was later penalized for a collision with Peebles, and a determined Keanu Al Azhari, who tried twice to go side by side with the Polish driver but couldn’t pass him. After Przyrowski's penalty, Al Azhari inherited fourth place and the 12 points
Maciej Gladysz, James Egozi, Lucas Fluxá, Griffin Peebles, Jan Przyrowski (after the penalty), and Gabriel Gómez, who returned to the points, completed the final top 10 of the weekend.
Thus, at the conclusion of the penultimate round of the Spanish F4 Championship in Jerez, Keanu Al Azhari remains the leader with 239 points, followed closely by Mattia Colnaghi with 226. Maciej Gladysz (180) still has a mathematical chance of becoming champion but is now looking behind at Juan Cota (145), who dreams of a podium finish overall after surpassing Ernesto Rivera (126), now in fifth.
In the battle for the team title, KCL by MP Motorsport holds the top spot with 393 points, and the fight remains within the team, as only their box neighbours, MP Motorsport (318), can challenge them, after eliminating Griffin Core by Campos (187) and Campos Racing (165) from contention. This will be the Dutch team’s seventh crown, though the final event will determine who writes their name in the record books.
The Season Finale will take place from November 8 to 10 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
