Griffin Core by Campos driver Thomas Strauven was crowned the 2025 F4 Spain champion this past weekend after adding two more wins and a second place to his tally. His teammate Przyrowski also stepped twice onto the podium, while Kanthan, Monteiro and Costa from Campos Racing similarly took podium finishes in the Rookie category
Thomas Strauven lived up to expectations that had already cast him as the clear title favorite before the penultimate round of the season, held this past weekend at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The Belgian is the new F4 Spain champion after completing an absolutely majestic campaign behind the wheel of his Griffin Core by Campos single-seater. With seven victories prior to Valencia, Strauven added two more and a second place. In fact, his win in Saturday’s first race was already enough to secure the title mathematically. This is the second drivers’ crown achieved by the Alzira-based squad after Nikola Tsolov’s success in 2022. With still three races remaining, Strauven’s numbers speak for themselves: nine wins, seven further podiums, and seventeen points finishes out of eighteen possible.
His teammate Jan Przyrowski also performed at an excellent level, taking two more podiums that keep the Polish driver in strong contention for the runner-up spot heading into Montmeló. The third member of Griffin Core by Campos, Matúš Ryba, was close to scoring points but narrowly missed out. The young Campos Racing trio made up of Vivek Kanthan, Noah Monteiro and Miguel Costa were also able to shine at their team’s home event, all of them stepping onto the Rookie podium: the American in Race 1, the Brazilian in Race 2, and the Portuguese in Race 3. They all secured a solid haul of points for both the Drivers’ and Teams’ standings.
In Saturday morning’s free practice session, Przyrowski immediately set the pace with a best time of 1m33.681s. Strauven was third, just over a tenth behind, while Kanthan took a promising sixth place on the timesheets.
By midday, in the first qualifying session, the Griffin Core by Campos duo confirmed their dominance. The balance tipped in Strauven’s favour as the Belgian stopped the clock at 1m33.690s to take pole position and two bonus points. Przyrowski followed in second with a 1m33.776s lap. Kanthan, Costa and Monteiro delivered strong performances to qualify from ninth to eleventh respectively, with Ryba in 21st. The second-best laps of each driver, determining the grid for the shorter race at Cheste, reflected the same result, with Strauven on top thanks to a 1m33.703s, followed by Przyrowski’s 1m33.925s. Costa was sixth, Monteiro eighth, Kanthan ninth and Ryba again 21st.
The first 30-minute race in the afternoon saw Strauven and Przyrowski maintain their front-row positions as soon as the lights went out. In a race run without interruptions, both drivers set an unmatchable pace. Strauven, who also posted the fastest lap and took the extra point, completed 20 laps to take the chequered flag with a 2.5-second gap over Przyrowski. Kanthan and Monteiro put in solid drives to finish sixth and eighth overall, while Costa rounded off the top ten. Ryba recovered to fifteenth position.
Sunday began with the second qualifying session, in which Strauven was determined to leave no room for surprises. The Griffin Core by Campos driver claimed another pole and two more points with a 1m33.787s lap. In an extremely tight session, Przyrowski was third with a 1m33.927s. Monteiro qualified ninth, Costa 13th, while Kanthan and Ryba took 18th and 22nd respectively.
The second race, held mid-morning and lasting 25 minutes plus one lap, again had Strauven as the main protagonist. The newly crowned champion made a perfect start and maintained the lead ahead of René Lammers, who had moved past Przyrowski for second. After three laps behind the safety car due to early incidents, Strauven controlled the restart and kept Lammers under pressure throughout. Although he could not open a large gap this time, Strauven dominated from start to finish to secure his second win of the weekend. Przyrowski completed the podium in third, once again with a Griffin Core by Campos car. Costa delivered a superb race to finish sixth, while Kanthan and Monteiro crossed the line in eighth and ninth. Ryba, who had climbed several places, eventually dropped back due to a ten-second penalty.
The final race of the Valencia weekend again saw the “home” drivers fighting at the sharp end. This time, Strauven was surprised off the line by Lammers, who snatched the lead as both ran side by side down to Turn 1. Przyrowski also lost one position to Reno Francot. In another clean and competitive race with no interruptions, the pace was extremely high. Lammers opened a small gap over Strauven, who settled for second to extend his podium streak. Przyrowski finished fourth, while Monteiro also scored points with a tenth-place result. Ryba staged a strong comeback to 13th, with Kanthan and Costa finishing 16th and 18th respectively.
Newly crowned champion Strauven leaves Valencia with 345 points to his name, while Przyrowski sits fourth on 188, but with second and third places still within reach. Monteiro is eighth overall and second among the rookies with 87 points, while American driver Kanthan lies tenth overall and fourth in the rookie classification with 63 points. In the Teams’ standings, Griffin Core by Campos leads with 470 points and a comfortable margin over second place. Campos Racing, meanwhile, holds fourth position with 136 points.
The final round of the current season will take place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on November 15–16.
Thomas Strauven (Griffin Core by Campos Driver in F4 Spain): “It was a great weekend. I became F4 Spain Champion already after the first race on Saturday, which was a special moment. We’ve been very consistent all year, and everything we worked for came together perfectly. The team gave me a car capable of winning throughout the season, and I’m really happy with the result and grateful to everyone..”
