Keanu Al Azhari is confident he will be able to maintain his championship lead of 34 points over the three remaining Spanish F4 rounds.

By Juan Arroyo

The Emirati driver has claimed three victories and a further five podiums across four rounds this season, establishing a 34-point lead over MP Motorsport teammate Mattia Colnaghi.

It has been a breakout year for Al Azhari. He came third in F4 UAE, fighting the likes of Freddie Slater and Kean Nakamura-Berta for the title, and now has a stronghold over the drivers’ standings in his second Spanish F4 campaign. Last season, his first in single-seaters, he finished ninth in the standings.

“I don’t feel a threat for the title at the moment,” Al Azhari told Feeder Series. “I feel really secure in the championship. I feel like I’ve always been within the top three consistently. The pace has been really strong all throughout the championship. My teammates are the only ones that are competing against me.”

The top four spots in the drivers’ standings are currently occupied by MP Motorsport drivers. Below Al Azhari are Colnaghi, on 130 points; Maciej Gładysz, on 128 points; and Lucas Fluxá, on 94 points. The four have accumulated 10 wins in 12 races, but Al Azhari’s average finishing position of 6.66 has helped keep him ahead of the rest since the second round at Portimão.

“Maciej and Mattia are both doing a great job. The others are slowly climbing up the ladder as well. I think we have very friendly competition within the team. We’re all in a great spot, all really happy with our results and our performances. I don’t really feel much pressure,” Al Azhari said.

Campos Racing, MP Motorsport’s main rivals, have flailed by contrast. Both team entries by the Spanish outfit – Spanish F4 rules allow teams to run three cars; MP and Campos enter two teams under different names each – trail MP Motorsport’s teams significantly in the team standings. Combined, the Dutch outfit lead Campos by 170 points.

Asked what has led to such domination, Al Azhari points to MP’s pre-season preparation as a key factor: “All throughout winter testing and the Formula Winter Series, the team has always made sure that the drivers are sticking to the correct driving style,” Al Azhari said.

“We found something driving style-wise that many of us in the team can get the most out of. I can’t exactly say what it is, but we all feel really comfortable with the car. The team did a great job preparing for the season and that just gave us a head start to the year.”

“Last year, you could say we struggled a little bit more, but we recollected everything. They had a look and they decided that they had to prepare themselves better and that’s why they decided to take part in the Formula Winter Series.”

The Emirati driver also points to the healthy working relationship he has built within the MP garages and his familiarity with the series as reasons for his success. Al Azhari’s mechanic from last season remained in the Spanish F4 squad for 2024. His younger brother, Adam Al Azhari, joined the championship with Spanish outfit Tecnicar Racing from the third round in Le Castellet.

“I’m having a lot of fun. Everyone in the team is in a great mood. I would say that the environment even within the whole championship this year is great. I have my brother with me now as well, which is really special. It’s great to see him have some success as well. When I show up to a weekend, everyone’s smiling. It just makes it much nicer. It also helps a lot through the weekend,” Al Azhari said.

“Within the team, it’s pretty much mostly the same people. A few new people have come in, some have gone to other categories. I changed my engineer for this year. I had a great engineer last year, a great engineer this year. Of course, it plays a vital role, but within the team, it’s still pretty much the same function. Everybody has a similar job. Most of it comes down to how the team works together,” he added.

Al Azhari missed out on the F4 UAE title in January by eight points to Prema-partnered Mumbai Falcons’ Freddie Slater. The final two rounds yielded his worst consecutive run of results of the season: one podium in six races, after achieving six podiums – including two victories – in the previous three rounds.

The Emirati driver is in a vastly different position in his ongoing pursuit of the Spanish F4 title, but said there are still lessons from his Middle-Eastern run to apply in the three remaining rounds.

“The most important thing that I should have taken out of that was just to always enjoy myself. Maybe going into the last weekend [of F4 UAE], I put a bit too much pressure on myself,” Al Azhari said.

“We knew it would be a tough challenge. I felt extremely confident, but we started to lag behind in the last two rounds because it was hard to challenge Prema. It always is. They have a slight competitive advantage, but I proved myself in that championship as well. I should have enjoyed it a bit more. I really did, but at the end of the day, we only do it because we love it.”

“This year in Spanish F4, I’ve made the most of the time I have there. It’s just a bonus to be in the situation that I am in right now. I feel extremely confident. I just put too much pressure on myself [in F4 UAE] and I don’t feel that kind of pressure anymore, so I’m really glad about that.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency