ADAC Formula 4 races are being staged outside of Germany's borders for the first time in its brief history, as Austria's Red Bull Ring becomes the venue for the second race weekend of this inaugural 2015 season. In qualifying, Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) secured the best grid position for the first of this weekend's three races. The Swedish teenager will start the first race on Saturday from pole position (live on SPORT1 from 14:40 onwards). Zhou Guan Yu (16, CHN, Prema Powerteam) will line up next to him on the front row. Ralf Aron (17, EST, Prema Powerteam) will be in third place and Tim Zimmermann (18, GER, Neuhauser Racing) in P4.

Grid positions for the second race are determined by the second best lap times of the session, and Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing) won through against Zimmermann to take pole. Joel Eriksson and rookie David Beckmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) will share the second row on Sunday at 12:00 noon (live on SPORT1).

Qualifying for Race 1

Qualifying was held in two groups in view of the large field of entries composed of 39 cars. The starting grid for the first race is determined by the fastest lap times in qualifying. The driver who posts best time of anyone lines up in pole position. The fastest driver from the other group takes second place on the grid. The remaining cars then slot into place behind the two fastest drivers from the groups.

Ralf Aron will line up behind the two fastest drivers in the group, Joel Eriksson and Zhou Guan Yu, and occupy third place on the grid directly in front of ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Tim Zimmermann in P4. Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Juniorteam) and Michael Waldherr (18, GER, Motopark) share the third row. David Beckmann will line up behind Joey Mawson in eighth position on his ADAC Formula 4 debut.

In Group 2, Joel Eriksson won the battle with Zhou Guan Yu from the other group, to secure best time of anyone - 1:32.173 minutes. Ferrari Driver Academy's Zhou Guan Yu needed 1:32.220 minutes for his fastest lap in Group 1, taking second place on the grid. For a long time, Eriksson was the only driver to crack 1:33. He maintained his lead with a strong lap two minutes before the end. Aron, who is placed second in the championship, improved at the chequered flag, posting a 1:32.190 to take second place from Esmeijer.

Qualifying in Group 1 was just as exciting. Zimmermann took the top spot in the dying seconds of the qualifying, only to be beaten by Guan Yu, who posted two sector best times. Until then, Waldherr (1:32.293) had topped the timesheets.

Qualifying for Race 2

As far as the second-fastest lap times of the session were concerned, Australian driver Mawson won through with a personal best time of 1:32.321 minutes. Zimmermann secured second place with a lap time of 1:32.514 minutes. Eriksson (1:32.349) and Beckmann (1:32.535) will line up on the second row for the fifth race of the season. Aron (1:32.424), Guan Yu (1:32.556), the championship leader Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Juniorteam/1:32.537) and Waldherr (1:32.560) complete the top eight.

Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark), Pole, Race 1:

"My qualifying went really well today. Being on pole position is just great. The weekend at the Red Bull Ring in 2014 was a turning point for me - I now have a similar feeling. We made some changes to the car before qualifying and I've felt really good since then. I pushed the whole time apart from when posting a few cool-down laps, and the lap times were there. I'm now hoping for the same result in the race."

Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing), Pole, Race 2:

"I'm really happy about pole position in the second race. Today's cooler conditions in qualifying suited me, because they had a positive effect on my car's balance. Overall, I was very pleased with setup and balance - a big thank you to my engineers and the whole team. Unfortunately, I got stuck in traffic a little bit towards the end of qualifying and made a few mistakes, otherwise an even better lap time might have been possible. I've now got my sights set on the podium in order to accumulate more points."