The first Formula 4 Spanish Championship event following the summer break proved to be a chaotic race weekend at Jarama, marked by multiple Safety Car appearances and a series of challenges for GRS.
Two months after the previous round, the Formula 4 Spanish Championship returned to action this weekend. The Circuito de Madrid – Jarama hosted the championship’s return, making its first appearance on the calendar since 2024, although the circuit had already hosted the Spanish Winter Championship earlier this year.
GRS Team entered the fourth round of the season with changes to its driver line-up. After missing the previous event through injury, Pablo Riccobono returned to the Nº. 74 car this weekend. Sandro Pérez joined the team in the Nº. 96, arriving from the Toyota GR Cup and contesting his second Formula 4 weekend after taking part in the opening round of the current season with another team. Completing the line-up was Finland’s Alfons Miettinen, who has competed in every round of the championship so far.
It was an unusual weekend, with no pre-event testing and all the on-track action concentrated on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning featured one test session and two Free Practice sessions, providing the drivers with their only preparation ahead of the competitive action. For Alfons, it also marked his first laps at Jarama.
Later in the day, the first qualifying session brought further difficulties for our drivers. In a close and challenging session, Riccobono qualified P30, with Pérez in P33 and Miettinen in P34.
Race 1 therefore offered an opportunity to fight back from the lower end of the grid. Our drivers made good starts, but the race was heavily disrupted by multiple Safety Car periods. Riccobono gained several positions to finish 26th. Miettinen, meanwhile, was forced to retire after being hit by another driver. Pérez was also involved in an accident and sustained a hand injury that unfortunately ruled him out for the remainder of the weekend.
Sunday began with only two GRS drivers remaining in contention and the second qualifying session, which would set the grid for Race 3. It was another difficult session, with Pablo finishing P32, just ahead of Alfons in P33.
Race 2, the shortest of the weekend, featured even longer interruptions than the first race, leaving very little green-flag running. Nevertheless, both drivers improved on their starting positions, with Riccobono finishing P25 and Miettinen P30.
Chaos once again took centre stage in the final race, which featured multiple incidents. Fortunately, both GRS drivers managed to stay out of trouble and produced strong recovery drives. Riccobono gained a total of 10 positions to finish 22nd, while Miettinen also secured his best result of the weekend by finishing 26th.
This brings to an end a difficult weekend in which GRS did not have the pace to challenge for the leading positions. We will continue working to improve ahead of the remainder of the season and will keep fighting to make progress and achieve stronger results during the final stages of the championship. Formula 4 Spanish Championship will return in one month’s time, on September 26–27, at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto.
