Only a few weeks to go before the big season finale of the ADAC Formula 4, and after 21 of 24 races, Mike David Ortmann (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg) has positioned himself in third place overall behind front-runners Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) and Mick Schumacher (17, Germany, Prema Powerteam). Following his third win of the season at Zandvoort last time out, he now intends to launch another attack on the runner's-up spot in the ADAC Formula 4 championship at the Hockenheimring (30th September to 2nd October).

ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Ortmann finished the 2015 inaugural season in second place in the ADAC Formula 4 Rookie championship and is basically pleased with the way his year has gone so far: "We dropped a few points initially, but the Sachsenring meeting with my double victory was really great, for sure. It felt terrific to have achieved my goal of winning a race." Being a little bit critical of himself, he then admitted that it had not been easy to continue winning afterwards: "You've got the right attitude. You've won two races and think to yourself, this is how things are now set to continue, but actually putting that into practice was quite tough."

Ortmann is undergoing his second year of training in the ADAC Formula 4 and is receiving a top-class education from his team in all things to do with racing. "My outfit, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg eV, are well known for their excellent driver training. 2015 was very much a year spent learning on the job, but we also became aware quite early on that we could be up there with the leaders. I personally found that I process my experiences from the season during the winter. I learned about performance in my first year, while in my second year, I discovered lots more little things with every race."

Ortmann is also making progress with his training as a mechatronics engineer and devotes himself to his studies during breaks from racing. Ortmann: "You can also learn a fair bit while working in the course of a year. It feels good to be given a bit of independence and work on your own and find that you can carry out a task that you've previously only watched someone else do. Such experiences are also important in giving you a sense of achievement."

The season has given Ortmann knowledge that he would like to put to good use in the last three races. He intends to achieve a great deal once again despite the 62-point deficit on Mick Schumacher. "Qualifying is key, and we've really focused on qualis in testing." He is not complacent, even though he knows that the two drivers in front of him have also gained in experience: "I never look backwards. I'm going to concentrate on not making any mistakes. I'll do everything I can as long as there's still a theoretical chance of pushing forwards. You never know, someone else might make a mistake, and I can move up a place. As for me, my rule is always to be relaxed when driving and not get too uptight."

For some weeks now, a brand new racing bike has graced his personal fleet. "I rode in the 'Rad am Ring' bike race at the Nürburgring and thought it would be the ideal opportunity to finally realise a dream and buy myself a new bike with my savings. Taking it out for a spin the first time on the narrow section racing tyres was just magic."

Ortmann has regularly been in the saddle during these last few wonderful summer weekends when temperatures have hit 40 degrees in the shade. "It's great that you can still have fun while training hard," he told us. Outings of up to 75 kilometres at weekends and 30 kilometres after work are now part of the young apprentice's regular fitness and mental training routine in order to prepare for ADAC Formula 4 race weekends.

However, the four-wheeled ADAC Formula 4 racing cars are still Ortmann's abiding passion and he knows most definitely where his real love lies: "I adore cycling. It's a lot of fun, but I don't want to change disciplines. I always look forward to getting back in the car, you know. It's my whole life after all!"