Photo: Spanish F4
Lucas Fluxa topped the first qualifying session of round one of the Spanish F4 season at Jarama with a late lap, claiming pole position for the opening race.
Rodin Motorsport’s Thomas Strauven set the pace early on with a 1m33.108s, which he lowered to 1m33.012s soon after. That lap would eventually earn him pole for race two, where the grid is determined using each driver’s second-best laptime.
MP Motorsport’s Keanu Al Azhari rose to the top of the charts halfway through the session, bettering Strauven by 0.177 seconds. Rodin’s Peter Bouzinelos improved to third place ahead of MP’s Maciej Gladysz and Drivex School’s Francisco Macedo.
Campos Racing’s drivers then set more competitive laptimes but were not quick enough to challenge for pole. James Egozi, Ernesto Rivera and Nathan Tye placed themselves fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, but dropped in the order at the end of the session with Rivera ending up fastest of the three.
Late efforts paid off for MP driver Fluxa, who will also line up on the front row in race two. He went third fastest with over one minute to go then improved by 0.208s to pip Al Azhari to pole as the chequered flag waved.
Strauven and MP’s Mattia Colnaghi also lowered their marks, clocking sub-1m32s laps in third and fourth.
Although he was sixth fastest overall, Gladysz will start race two from third place with Rivera alongside him. Al Azhari will line up fifth after being unable to improve in the second half of qualifying.
Gabriel Gomez and Cristian Cantu concluded TC Racing’s — the team founded by Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Roberto Merhi — first ever qualifying session in 24th and 25th place, 0.775s and 0.859s off the pace respectively.
Qualifying round-up
Race 1 grid
1 Lucas Fluxa MP Motorsport 1m32.815s
2 Keanu Al Azhari MP Motorsport +0.020s
3 Thomas Strauven Rodin Motorsport +0.068s
4 Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport +0.182s
5 Peter Bouzinelos Rodin Motorsport +0.215s
6 Maciej Gladysz MP Motorsport +0.309s
7 Ernesto Rivera Campos Racing +0.319s
8 James Egozi Campos Racing +0.327s
9 Nathan Tye Campos Racing +0.358s
10 Francisco Macedo Drivex School +0.387s
Race 2 grid
1 Strauven 1m33.012s
2 Fluxa +0.011s
3 Gladysz +0.120s
4 Rivera +0.150s
5 Al Azhari +0.171s
6 Egozi +0.183s
7 Colnaghi +0.215s
8 Matteo Quintarelli Sainteloc Racing +0.269s
9 Bouzinelos +0.277s
10 Andres Cardenas Campos Racing +0.301s