Mike David Ortmann (16, DEU, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) has won the second of three ADAC Formula 4 races at the Sachsenring. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé snatched the lead from Mick Schumacher (17, DEU, Prema Powerteam) shortly before the end of the race after a safety car period. "It's a great feeling," said Ortmann after his second victory on the historic track. "I pulled off a neat manoeuvre which I think Mick wasn't expecting."
Ortmann and Schumacher were joined on the podium by Australia's Joey Mawson (20, Van Amersfoort Racing), a result that was enough for him to retain his championship lead. In fourth place was ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jannes Fittje (16, DEU, US Racing). The best rookie was Nicklas Nielsen (19, DK, Neuhauser Racing) in fifth overall.
Thrilling duels at the front
At the start, Schumacher successfully converted pole position into the race lead and until just before the end looked all set for a lights-to-flag victory. Behind the son of record F1 championship winner Michael Schumacher, a battle royal for P2 was taking place between Mawson, Ortmann and Kim Luis Schramm (18, DEU, US Racing), which became slightly less complicated when Schramm retired ten minutes before the end.
The third and last race at Hohenstein-Ernstthal starts at 15:40 local time and will be shown live on SPORT1+. The grid has been determined by the result of the first race, with the Top Ten starting in reverse order. Consequently, pole position has gone to Jonathan Aberdein (18, ZAF, Motopark) with Kami Laliberté (16, CAN, Van Amersfoort Racing) starting alongside and Simo Laaksonen (17, FIN, Motopark) one row back in third. Meanwhile, double winner Ortmann will start from tenth.
Further comments on Race 2 of the ADAC Formula 4 weekend:
Mike David Ortmann (winner, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.): "I lost out at the start again when Joey Mawson overtook the lot of us. An unexpected error on the first corner then allowed Kim Luis Schramm to get past. With Mick and Joey battling it out at the front, I tried to exploit the situation. When Joey fell back, I moved up to third. And when Kim had to retire and I was up to second, I told myself to concentrate on getting forward and staying cool. When the safety car came out, that suited me perfectly, because the distance to Mick was reduced again."
Mick Schumacher (second, Prema Powerteam): "Obviously I wanted to defend my pole and win the race, so of course I'm somewhat disappointed with this second place. Mike David Ortmann's attack towards the end took me by surprise, and unfortunately I didn't manage to compensate for this error."
Joey Mawson (third, Van Amersfoort Racing): "It's nice to be back on the podium. It was difficult for us to keep up with Mick and Kim. In the end, I'm glad that the car wasn't damaged and that I've scored more points in the championship. If I finish the last race in the Top Five, I'll be happy. A Top Three finish would be almost as good as a win for me."
Nicklas Nielsen (Best Rookie, Neuhauser Racing): "It was a good race. I didn't have such a great start, but there were subsequently quite a few safety car deployments. I'm glad that we are getting better and better. In the third race, I'll be starting from fourth place. I want to get off to a good start and make a push for the podium."