MP’s Maciej Gladysz victorious in Spanish F4 race three at Paul Ricard

Photo: F4 Spain

Maciej Gladysz scored a maiden Spanish Formula 4 victory in the final race of the weekend at Paul Ricard.

The MP Motorsport driver led home team-mate Keanu Al Azhari who extended his points lead, with Campos Racing’s James Egozi finishing a close third.

The day began with a 20-minute qualifying session, and Rodin Motorsport’s Thomas Strauven initially set the pace. Sainteloc Racing’s Yevan David then went to the top, before Strauven reclaimed first place in the session’s second half.

Gladysz broke into the 2m05s with just under eight minutes to go, and Egozi beat him by 0.024 seconds with five-and-a-half minutes remaining of qualifying.

Egozi lost out on pole after the chequered flag waved, as Gladysz set a 2m05.904s on his final lap to reclaim top spot. Al Azhari went third fastest, ahead of Campos’s Ernesto Rivera and MP’s Mattia Colnaghi who were matched on pace, with Strauven down in seventh.

Egozi made the slightly better launch at the start of the race but Gladysz used the inside line into turn one to remain ahead. Gladysz pulled over one second clear early on, but his advantage was reduced to 0.5s at the race’s halfway mark.

The gap was reduced further over the next few laps, with Al Azhari playing a waiting game behind the pair. Having swept around the outside of Colnaghi earlier in the race, Rivera soon made it a four-car lead train.

A defensive line from Gladysz into the final corner gave Egozi the opportunity to draw alongside at the start of the penultimate lap but he ran wide at turn one. The pair continued to run side-by-side on the exit but Egozi then lost second to Al Azhari who swept around the outside at Camp.

Egozi then faced a further challenge from Rivera but held on into the chicane. The chequered flag was waved in error at the end of the lap, but despite this the race continued for one more tour.

Gladysz held on to win by 0.325s, while Al Azhari covered off a renewed challenge from Egozi into the final corner for second. Rivera finished a close fourth, the quartet separated by little more than a second.

Colnaghi was 0.6s further adrift in fifth, while Campos’s Jan Przyrowski climbed from ninth to finish close behind him.

Sainteloc Racing Matteo Quintarelli was seventh ahead Campos’s Nathan Tye and MP’s Griffin Peebles, with Monlau Motorsport’s Tim Gerhards completing the top 10. Strauven slipped back from seventh to 12th, two places ahead of MP’s Lucas Fluxa who slipped to fifth in the championship.

Race results (15 laps)