Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Marvin Dienst (18, DEU, HTP Junior Team) has firmly staked his claim to the 2015 ADAC Formula 4 title, after winning the first and second of the three races at the Sachsenring. Having now made it five race wins out of the last six, he continues to extend his championship lead. Dienst's main rivals, Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) and Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing), also put in a strong performance to join him on the podium.

"I have to say a big 'thank you' to my team, because our speed is incredible and the car is perfect," said Dienst after his third back-to-back triumph in 2015 and his seventh win of the season. "The target for tomorrow is to make it a hat-trick." In 17 races so far contested, the 18-year-old has made ten podium appearances. Dienst won both of the Saturday races from pole position.

Race interruption

Dienst had to battle hard for victory in the second of three races at the Sachsenring. Although he started from pole position, he soon fell back to third behind Eriksson and Mawson. A collision between Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Junior Team), Marek Böckmann (18, DEU, Jenzer Motorsport) and Mick Schumacher (16, DEU, Van Amersfoort Racing) on the first lap triggered a safety car deployment. The race was then red-flagged due to barrier repairs and the three drivers involved were no longer able to participate. The race director decided to set the new duration of the race to 20 minutes.

Shortly after the re-start for the fourth lap, Dienst overtook Mawson and gave chase to Eriksson. The Motopark youngster was able to maintain his lead until the safety car came out for a second time on Lap 8. One lap after the re-start, Dienst sensed his chance and pulled off a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre against the race leader. In the remaining minutes, Dienst built up a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds ahead of Eriksson.

The double victory for the 18-year-old further extends his championship lead. Dienst tops the table on 244 points, 24 ahead of closest pursuer Eriksson. The Swedish 17-year-old is on 220 points, while Van Amersfoort Racing driver Mawson holds onto third place with 200 points.

Best result yet for local favourite Schramm

Kim Luis Schramm (18, DEU, Neuhauser Racing) in fourth place just missed out on the podium. This was the local teenager's best result to date in ADAC Formula 4. The Neuhauser Racing driver held his own over the 15 laps against David Beckmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), who was hot on his heels. 15 year-old Beckmann finished the race as best-placed formula racing newcomer and further extended his lead in the rookie championship.

ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Tim Zimmermann (18, DEU, Neuhauser Racing) achieved a podium in the first race and secured another good result by placing sixth in Race 2 at the Sachsenring. Robert Shwartzman (15, RUS, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Jason Kremer (20, DEU, Timo Scheider Team) complete the Top Eight. In the final race on Sunday (live on SPORT1 at 16:00 CET), Michael Waldherr (18, DEU, Motopark) will line up on pole in front of Kim Luis Schramm.

Comments from the podium

Marvin Dienst (18, DEU, HTP Junior Team), Winner:

"My second win in the second race - perfect. But I definitely have to work on my starts. Losing two places from pole position is two too many. On the restart, I then drove quite quickly back up into second place and had Joel in my sights. He didn't make things easy for me, because he knows exactly where the best places to overtake are. I had to come up with something new, put pressure on him and lead him into making a mistake. I was even a little surprised at how quickly my tactic worked. I have to say a big 'thank you' to my team, because our speed is incredible and the car is perfect. The target for tomorrow is to make it a hat-trick. Overtaking here is incredibly difficult, but nothing is impossible."

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

"My start was really good and I immediately pulled out a small lead. I also did well on the restart after the red flag, but the understeer that was causing me problems in the first race was still there. That made it impossible to keep Marvin behind me. We were the fastest drivers, and we both drew away from the field. However, our car was slightly down on straight-line speed by comparison. We now need to keep up the pressure and work hard to attack again in the third race on Sunday."

Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing), Third:

"I'm pleased to be back on the podium after a tough weekend at the Nürburgring, but we've still got some work ahead of us to catch up with HTP Junior Team. I got close to Joel but lost ground on the restarts. When Marvin finally closed the gap, I didn't make things too difficult for either of us. He was clearly a lot faster and would have eventually overtaken anyway, since I had to contend with heavy oversteer. This result has enabled me to consolidate my third place in the championship. I've not yet given up all hope of lifting the title. There are still seven more opportunities, and I'm just taking each race as it comes."

David Beckmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), best-placed rookie:

"I'm pleased to be best rookie. I took the lead in the rookie championship in Race 1 and have now extended it. My restart after the race was red-flagged was OK, and I held on to fifth position. Unfortunately, I couldn't overtake Kim Luis in front of me, though Tim, who was behind me, didn't really get close. I'm satisfied with the result but hope maybe to be one of the Top Three tomorrow and finish on the podium."