The Belgian driver from Griffin Core by Campos claimed both long races at Paul Ricard and further extended his championship lead. His teammate Przyrowski is now second in the drivers' standings thanks to a third-place finish. From Campos Racing, both Kanthan and Monteiro made two rookie podium appearances
Belgian driver Thomas Strauven of Griffin Core by Campos is becoming the clear standout of the 2025 F4 Spain season. The Circuit Paul Ricard was once again a witness to Strauven’s unstoppable form. With six wins to his name so far—two of them this past weekend—and another third place, he is pulling away at the top of the standings. A telling stat: aside from Race 2 at Motorland Aragón, the Belgian has finished every other race on the podium.
Jan Przyrowski and Matúš Ryba, the other two Griffin Core by Campos drivers, had mixed fortunes. Przyrowski claimed all three pole positions over the weekend but couldn’t convert them into wins. Still, a third place in Saturday’s race was enough to secure second in the overall standings. As for Ryba, he made some strong comebacks but narrowly missed out on points-scoring positions.
At Campos Racing, Vivek Kanthan and Noah Monteiro each earned two rookie podium finishes. These two young talents continue to show clear progress and improvement in such a competitive series. Miguel Costa, however, had a less fortunate weekend, as the Brazilian couldn’t break into the points.
After a Friday dedicated to private testing and free practice, all the groundwork was laid for Saturday morning’s first qualifying session. Przyrowski set an unbeatable lap of 2m05.675s, with teammate Strauven second, 0.247s behind. Kanthan, Costa, and Monteiro qualified 11th, 13th, and 14th respectively, while Ryba was 17th.
That same afternoon saw the first race. When the lights went out, Przyrowski was overtaken by both Strauven and Ean Eyckmans, losing the lead. After a brief safety car period, the action resumed on lap 4 with Strauven leading the pack. Przyrowski came under pressure from Nathan Tye, who briefly snatched third place, but the Pole quickly reclaimed the podium position. From then on, Strauven held off Eyckmans to secure the win, with Przyrowski third. Monteiro finished tenth overall and third among rookies. In the rookie classification, Costa placed fourth and Kanthan fifth.
On Sunday morning, the second qualifying session followed a similar pattern. Przyrowski nearly matched his previous best, taking pole with a 2m05.854s lap, while Strauven was just behind with a 2m05.912s, earning second on the grid. Kanthan was sixth (2m06.266s), just ahead of teammates Monteiro and Costa (2m06.306s and 2m06.323s). Incredibly close margins! Ryba qualified 17th.
The second race, based on the second-best laps from Q1, also saw Przyrowski on pole with a 2m05.841s. Strauven started third, while Kanthan and Monteiro made it into the top ten in eighth and tenth. The start was difficult for Przyrowski, who, in defending the lead, dropped to seventh behind Kanthan. Up front, Strauven ran third behind Eyckmans and Tye. In a race featuring two safety car periods, Strauven attacked hard in the final laps, putting Eyckmans under serious pressure. Ultimately, he settled for the valuable points of third place. Kanthan crossed the line in sixth, just ahead of Przyrowski, and was second among the rookies. Costa finished 12th and fifth among rookies, followed closely by Ryba. Monteiro had to retire after contact in the opening laps damaged his car.
The third and final race was another masterclass in race management from Strauven. The Belgian snatched the lead from Przyrowski at the start and never looked back. Unfortunately, Przyrowski had to retire a few laps into the race while fighting for a podium. At the front, Strauven gave no openings to his rivals and completed the 16-lap race with a fastest lap to seal his sixth win. Monteiro, who was engaged in an exciting three-way battle with Reno Francot and Tye, finished fourth overall and second among rookies. Kanthan rounded out the rookie podium in third, finishing seventh overall. Ryba was just shy of the points in 11th, while Costa dropped back after a pit stop.
Strauven further extends his championship lead with 235 points, while Przyrowski remains second with 133. Monteiro and Kanthan are eighth and ninth overall but second and third in the rookie standings with 59 and 47 points, respectively. Griffin Core by Racing further strengthens its lead in the teams’ classification with 229 points, while Campos Racing sits fourth on 67 points.
The championship now enters its summer break, with Round 5 scheduled for September 20–21 at Jerez.
Jan Przyrowski (Griffin Core by Campos Driver in F4 Spain): “Really difficult weekend for me, a lot of bad luck and problems that I didn’t have control over but with all that I’m still very happy and proud of the work that the team and myself did that week.”
Photos: Fotocar13
