The ADAC Formula 4 youngsters are at the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend, contesting races four, five and six. The circuit will host Formula 1 in two weeks' time, but the 39 young talents of the ADAC High Speed Academy had their chance this Friday to adapt to conditions at the circuit ahead of qualifying on Saturday morning. After posting best time in first practice, Robert Shwartzman (15, RUS, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) was beaten by his team-mate this afternoon, and David Beckmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) finished second practice as fastest driver in the field.

Beckmann secured the best lap time of 1: 32.988 minutes, becoming the only rookie to crack the 1: 33 benchmark, racing with kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport. This was a strong start by the 15-year-old, who is making his ADAC Formula 4 debut this weekend. Beckmann had to miss the season opener at Oschersleben because of his age. He did not turn 15 until the Monday after the Oschersleben race weekend.

Top 21 finish within one second

Beckmann had a lead of 0.125 seconds on Shwartzman in second place. The 15-year-old secured best time of anyone on the first sector while posting his last flying lap but could not close to Beckmann. Third place went to Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Junior Team) with a personal best of 1: 33.254 minutes. Second practice was even more closely contested than the first session with the best 21 drivers finishing less than a second apart.

Zhou Guan Yu (16, ITA, Prema Powerteam) from the Ferrari Driver Academy achieved the fourth fastest lap time, placing just ahead of Motopark duo Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) and Michael Waldherr (18, GER, Motopark). Australian Joey Mawson in P7 was the best-placed driver for his team, Van Amersfoort Racing. Mattia Drudi (16, ITA, SMG Swiss Motorsport Group) was eighth fastest, coming home less than half a second off the pace.

Two more kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport drivers placed in the Top Ten apart from Beckmann and Shwartzman: Mike Ortmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Austrian teenager Thomas Preining (16, AUT, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) finished ninth and tenth respectively, while championship leader Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Junior Team) slotted into eleventh place directly in front of his main rival for the title, Ralf Aron (17, EST, Prema Powerteam).

SPORT1 showing all three races on free-to-air TV

Fans have the opportunity to watch live coverage of all three ADAC Formula 4 races. Exclusive TV partner SPORT1 broadcasts the first race on Saturday 6th June starting at 14:40 CEST. Races 2 and 3 on Sunday (11:55 and 17:00) will be shown on the same channel. The races can also be watched on SPORT1+. All 24 races of the ADAC Formula 4 season are streamed live on www.SPORT1.de and adac.de/motorsport.