Campos Racing is set to kick off the 2022 Formula 4 Spain Championship season this weekend in southern Portugal. The Algarve International Circuit, the most recent home of the F1 Portuguese Grand Prix, will host the season opener of the Formula 4 based racing series alongside the German DTM series.
The 7-lap calendar includes visits to the aforementioned Portimão circuit, in addition to Jerez (May 28-29), Cheste (June 11-12), Spa-Francorchamps (July 8-9), Motorland Aragón (3- September 4), Los Arcos (October 1-2) and Barcelona (November 12-13).
Campos Racing will enter five cars to bolster its F4 Spain title after a sensational season debut last year, in which the Alzira-based outfit secured the vice championship in both the driver and team standings. In addition, current FIA F3 driver Pepe Martí finished third overall in his debut in single-seater racing with Campos Racing. For the 2022 season, five young talents will join the roster: Filip Jenić, Georg Kelstrup, Hugh Barter, Nikola Tsolov and Jesse Carrasquedo Jr.
Serb Jenić and Dane Kelstrup are already race winners in F4 Spain, while Hugh Barter is a newcomer to the series, but the Japanese-Australian ace has already achieved outstanding results in the French F4 FFSA Academy with several wins and podium finishes to his name. Neither the Bulgarian Tsolov nor the Mexican Carrasquedo Jr. need an introduction as they are two drivers teamed up with former Campos Racing drivers and current F1 stars Fernando Alonso and Sergio “Checo” Pérez respectively. Despite making their debut in the series, Tsolov and Carrasquedo Jr. proved their speed not only in karting but also in F4 pre-season testing.
The Algarve International Circuit is a kind of Spa-Francorchamps in Southern Europe. Despite the environment being completely different, Portimão has a similar undulating layout with 15 corners with different characteristics. The right-handed Galp turn is one of the most challenging turns of the season. Despite the extremely hard-fought Formula 4 racing series, the Algarve is a very wide circuit, which should make overtaking easier.
The schedule provides for two 40-minute free practice sessions on Friday, with Q1 taking place on Saturday morning at 09:30 AM. Race 1, consisting of 25 minutes + 1 lap, is scheduled at 3.17 pm. On Sunday, the drivers will hit the track for Q2 at 09:30 with the remaining two races at 11.57 (25 minutes + 1 lap) and 16.17 (18 minutes + 1 lap). All times are CET. Racing action will be broadcast live on the F4 Spain channel on YouTube.
Adrián Campos (Team Boss Campos Racing): “We are about to start a new season in the F4 Spain Championship. We are delighted to start the season in such a great place where we took two wins last year. We have worked intensively to understand the new car and continue its winning form. In addition, we have a lot of confidence in our new drivers and I have no doubt that together we can achieve great results again. Let’s see where we end up at the end of the season, but it looks promising.”
Hugh Barter (Campos Racing driver from F4 Spain): “Going into the first weekend of the year not only makes me feel like myself, but the whole team is better prepared than ever. We have put a lot of work and effort into developing this new car, so I am very confident in it.”