Photo: Dutch Photo Agency
Keanu Al Azhari will remain with MP Motorsport for his second season in Spanish Formula 4.
The Emirati made his F4 debut in the 2022 F4 United Arah Emirates Trophy as a Yas Heat Academy driver and finished third in both races. He stayed with the team for the 2023 F4 UAE season and came seventh in the standings with two podiums.
Al Azhari then joined MP in Spanish F4 after winning the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy shootout. He made the podium on his debut, took pole for his second race and came ninth in the standings. He has since returned to Yas Heat to race at home, winning both races from pole in the 2023 F4 UAE Trophy and currently sitting second in the 2024 F4 UAE standings with two wins, two second places and three poles from the first two rounds.
“Staying with MP Motorsport for a second attempt at the Spanish F4 championship will provide me with the best platform to move further up the single-seater ladder,” said Al Azhari.
“2023 was a great learning season for me in which – with the support from the people around me and the team – I have made real progress on and off the circuit, proving this with a dominant performance in the F4 UAE Trophy on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend with a double pole position and back-to-back lights-to-flag wins.
“The work we have done in 2023 will be a great foundation for 2024, providing the ideal stepping stone to challenge for podiums and ultimately the championship. I am hoping my personal development as a racing driver over the last 12 months and the [ongoing] UAE F4 championship will be the best preparation possible for the upcoming Spanish F4 series which starts at Navarra in May.”
Al Azhari is MP’s sixth signing for Spanish F4, and will be the team’s leader in terms of category experience.
“It’s great news that Keanu will be back with us for more F4,” said MP’s team principal Sander Dorsman.
“He showed his natural pace when he stuck his car on the front row at Spa-Francorchamps at his very first attempt to claim his first podium in the series. For 2024, it’s our aim to convert that speed into more podiums and to have Keanu challenge for wins. Our 2024 Spanish F4 line-up is now boasting a promising mix of youth and experience, so we are looking forward to what promises to be a great season.”