Strauven goes over 100 points clear in Spanish F4 with sixth win

Photo: Campos Racing

Thomas Strauven moved over 100 points clear at the top of the Spanish Formula 4 standings with victory in race three at Paul Ricard.

The Campos Racing driver took the lead from pole-sitting team-mate Jan Przyrowski off the line and then had to fend off MP Motorsport’s Ean Eyckmans until he was forced deep at Virage and his fellow Belgian went past.

Eyckmans weaved his way down the Mistral straight, and Strauven got alongside at Signes. They rubbed wheels and Strauven got back through into Beausset. As Przyrowski lost further places, Reno Francot passed MP team-mate Rene Lammers for third.

There was several lock-ups from Strauven on lap two, but after that he without pressure and sprinted off to take his sixth win of the season by 4.5 seconds.

Campos’s Noah Monteiro overtook Lammers early in lap two, then Przyrowski got back past him at Virage. There was squabbling down the Mistral straight, and the big loser was Lammers who ended the lap in ninth.

Przyrowski reclaimed another place on lap four by diving down the inside of Francot at the final corner, but a lap later he retired in the pits as Lammers was spun down the order at the last corner by Tecnicar Motorsport’s Andrej Petrovic.

Monteiro had attacked Francot through the first sector of lap five, but then got stuck behind him. Francot weaved down the Mistral straight on lap six, and they ran nose-to-tail after that but there was no change and it brought MP’s Niklas Schaufler into play. He attaced at the last corner on lap seven, unsuccessfully, and Rodin Motorsport’s Nathan Tye had joined in by lap 10.

A lap later he went down the inside of Schaufler at turn one, but there was now a small gap to the two ahead. As he pursued them, MP’s Juan Cota began attacking a defensive and sliding Schaufler.

Cota tried again around the outside at turn one on lap 14, then at Signes and made it through. But his unusual line meant Schaufler was back ahead at Beausset. Campos’s Vivek Kanthan, who was a few seconds behind a lap before, was now on their tail.

The battles for third and sixth culminated on the last lap. Francot expertly weaved his way through the final lap to keep his podium place, while Cota overtook Schaufler as they began the lap but they were side-by-side again by turn two.

Schaufler had to concede once Kanthan was getting volved, getting his move done at Virage and beating Schaufler by 0.025s in a photo finish.

Race results (16 laps)