ADAC Formel 4·6.6.2015

Comments from Saturday: What the youngsters had to say for themselves

Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark), Winner:

"This win makes me incredibly happy - I'm finally back on top. The start was not quite perfect. Guan Yu Zhou suddenly got very close to my front wheel in the first turn. I wanted to avoid a collision and ran wide. Luckily, I was able to hang on to P1 and pushed really hard from that moment on. Unfortunately, the two safety car periods caused me to lose my lead once again but I always firmly believed in victory, as I was able to draw away each time and maintain the distance needed to stay in front on the re-start - my car was just perfect today. I'm now even more motivated for the two races on Sunday."

Ralf Aron (17, EST, Prema Powerteam), Second:

"I'm very pleased with this result. The car was simply great - my thanks go to the whole team. I have to admit that Joel was a bit better today, but we are strong and will attack again on Sunday. Victory seemed within reach at the start, but I lost the necessary speed towards the middle of the race. What's positive about the situation is that I now hold the championship lead. Of course, I will do my best to maintain my position."

Guan Yu Zhou (16, CHN, Prema Powerteam), Third:

"I'm delighted with this third place. It means a good haul of points and a big leap up in the championship. Even more might have been possible. I got away to an excellent start and was on the inside in the first turn, but Joel on the outside accelerated better down the straight and remained in front. At the same time, my exit from the corner was not perfect and made me lose position again. I managed to stay in contention after the two safety car periods, and it was a pity that I lost some speed towards the end and could no longer attack."

Jonathan Cecotto (15, VEN, Motopark), P12: "That was a difficult race, because I had to start from quite far back. Some overtaking opportunities presented themselves, so I made the best of them. Obviously, I had been expecting something better than twelfth. Towards the end, I wanted to make good another place because I was faster than the car in front. Unfortunately, he blocked me, so all I could do was follow."

Lucas Mauron (17, CHE, Race Performance), P18: "I had a good start and was able to move up five places. Then I went around the outside at Turn 1 and got myself even further forward. Unfortunately, I hit another car on the third corner. This caused some damage to my car and I was having problems driving it. But even so, I still managed to keep up, so overall I´m quite satisfied."

Florian Janits (17, AUT, Lechner Racing), P21: "I went into the race in an optimistic frame of mind, but unfortunately I stalled the engine at the start. That´s not supposed to happen, of course, and it certainly won´t happen to me again. After that, the race went well. That´s why I´m highly motivated for the two races on Sunday. Our lap times were good, and we can build on that."

Cedric Piro (17, GER, Piro Sports), P23: "It´s is the first time I´ve raced on this track, so everything was new to me. The test day on Thursday was my first time at the Red Bull Ring, and I had to get used to everything very quickly. I´m not feeling frustrated about today. I had a good start and was up to P17 at one point, but unfortunately we then had a technical problem. We´re working on it now, and I´m sure that it will be sorted out by tomorrow."

Mick Schumacher (16, CHE, Van Amersfoort Racing), DNF: "It´s a pity that my race came to such an early end. I had more momentum than the Mücke car ahead of me and was catching it up. I wanted to overtake on the inside, but he pulled in on me so that I had to steer left to get past. He braked unexpectedly early, and I hit him with my front right wing while trying to get out of the way. Unfortunately, I also struck the Jenzer car on my left. Both my front wheels came off, leaving me unable to do anything else. But anyway, I´m OK and I´ll be back on the attack again tomorrow."

Benjamin Mazatis (17, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), DNF: "I got off to a good start and moved up several places. Then there was an accident in front of me, and I had to brake heavily. Unfortunately, I got hit by the car behind, which caused damage to my rear wing and one of my rear wheels. During the subsequent safety car period, I was able to continue, but shortly after the restart, the consequences of the collision began to make themselves felt. I lost propulsion and had to abandon the race. It´s really annoying, because I now have to start the third race from the back."