Jacob Micallef seals podium for campos racing at Circuito del Jarama

Campos Racing driver Jacob Micallef delivered a strong performance at Circuito del Jarama this past weekend, taking a hard-fought third place in Race 1 of the Spanish F4 Championship after starting from third on the grid and defending the position through four separate safety car interventions.

It capped a weekend in which the young driver was a frontrunner throughout, though he was the first to admit that stronger results were left on the table in qualifying and the two races that followed. The result builds on the momentum Micallef showed earlier this year in the Spanish Winter Series, where he finished third on a rookie podium.

Micallef set the tone early, running consistently inside the top three across free practices. In the qualifying session that set the grid for Race 1 held across two runs on new tyres, separated by a pit stop, he used his opening run to experiment with alternative lines through several corners he had not tried in practice, including taking Turn 5.

Not every experiment paid off, and he ended the run eighth. He found significantly more pace on his second run, setting his best lap on what he described as his third push lap of the session to qualify fourth, before being promoted to third when a rival received a grid penalty.

Jacob Micallef - photo credit fotocar13

Starting from third in Race 1, Micallef held the position under early pressure, fending off a challenge from Rocco Coronel. The race was punctuated by four separate safety car periods, testing every driver's restart craft. Micallef made the most of one restart to briefly challenge for second place, though the cars ahead proved too fast to find a way past.

He weathered a heavier onslaught at a later restart, holding off three to four cars attacking simultaneously before easing clear over the following corners. With the race ultimately finishing behind the safety car, Micallef brought the car home in third, his first podium of the season and headed straight to his team afterwards to celebrate.

The remainder of the weekend proved harder to convert. In qualifying for Races 2 and 3, Micallef admitted he under pushed, narrowly missing out on seventh and lining up 12th. Race 2 brought a steady run from eighth, with Micallef closing in on sixth place before a safety car restart cost him track position, dropping him from seventh back to eighth at the finish.

Race 3 was the tougher of the two: difficult start dropped him to 13th, and despite sustained pressure on the car ahead for 12th, he was unable to find a way through. A difficult safety car restart then pushed him onto the run-off area at Turn 1, sliding as low as 15th. He recovered to 13th, only to lose two further positions when he clipped his front wing avoiding a first-lap incident just ahead. A late race move and a subsequent penalty moved him back up, and Micallef crossed the line 13th.

Despite the mixed final two races, Micallef and Campos Racing leave Jarama with the season's maiden podium banked and clear targets for the rounds ahead. The result keeps the Campos Racing driver 12th in the 43-strong Spanish F4 Championship standings and 6th among the series' 30 rookies.

“It was a positive weekend overall, even if there's more we could have got out of it, especially from Qualifying 2 through to Race 3,” Micallef said. “Race 1 was a really special moment, holding third through four safety car restarts and defending hard against three or four cars at once wasn't easy, and I was so happy to bring it home on the podium. I went straight to the team afterwards to say thank you and celebrate, even if I still need to practice opening a champagne bottle! I know I left performance on the table in the other two races, so I'll keep my head down, work on the things I need to improve, and keep pushing to fight for more podiums in the races ahead.”