Mick Schumacher (17, Switzerland, Prema Powerteam) has won the third race of the new ADAC Formula 4 season at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. On the first weekend of the campaign in the third of three junior formula races, the son of record Formula 1 championship winner Michael Schumacher prevailed over Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) and Thomas Preining (17, Austria, Lechner Racing). Mawson, who started the race from tenth, had already won the first two races on Saturday and Sunday.
For Mick Schumacher, it was the second victory of his ADAC Formula 4 career. His first also came in the third race in last year's equivalent fixture at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben when he was still a member of the Van Amersfoort Racing squad. "Victory in the final race was the perfect end to an otherwise not so perfect weekend," said Schumacher. "I'm really pleased to have won from sixth on the grid, and I want to thank my team for having given me such a car and such great support."
Sophia Flörsch becomes first female driver to lead an ADAC Formula 4 race
Michael Waldherr (19, Germany, Lechner Racing) and ADAC Sports Foundation protégée Sophia Flörsch (15, Germany, Motopark) followed the three leading drivers across the finish line. During the race, Sophia had even taken P1 for a time, becoming the first female driver in the history of the junior formula series to do so. A podium looked on the cards for a while, even after Schumacher and Mawson had passed, but she had to let the two Lechner drivers, Preining and Waldherr, go past following a bump with Job van Uitert (17, Jenzer Motorsport).
Kim Luis Schramm (18, Germany, US Racing) took sixth place ahead of team-mate Janne Fittje (16, Germany). Nicklas Nielsen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) came eighth and won the rookie classification. His team-mate Felipe Drugovich (15, Brazil) and Kenneth Gulbrandsen (18, Norway, Team Timo Scheider) completed the Top Ten.
The third race marked the conclusion of a successful first race weekend of this year's ADAC Formula 4, which attracted more than 20,000 spectators to the circuit near Magdeburg. Fans will have the chance to watch a recording of the entire race on SPORT1+ at 8pm this evening.
The third race got away without a hitch to a fine start in bright sunshine, but a number of drivers were forced to retire after the very first turn: Kevin Kratz (18, Germany, Jenzer Motorsport), Kami Laliberté (16, Switzerland, Van Amersfoort Racing), Louis Gachot (16, GB, US Racing) and Carrie Schreiner (17, Germany, US Racing). The safety car came out on track in response.
Following the restart, pole-sitter Juri Vips (15, Estonia, Prema Powerteam) remained in front at first until race stewards penalised the Estonian's premature start with a drive-through penalty. Flörsch then led briefly, but Schumacher immediately seized one of the first overtaking opportunities to present itself and pulled away. Mawson, who had started from P10 on the grid, also steadily worked his way through the field to secure his third podium finish in the third race of the year.
So Mawson leads the overall standings after three of 24 races. He is on 68 points, giving him a cushion of 19 points on Schumacher (49). The two US Racing drivers Schramm (44) and Fittje (31) are immediately behind them in the standings.
The next three ADAC Formula 4 races are scheduled for the end of April. The Sachsenring will host the junior formula racing series under the banner of the ADAC GT Masters (29th April - 1st May).
Comments on the third round of the 2016 ADAC Formula 4:
Mick Schumacher (winner, Prema Powerteam): "Victory in the final race was the perfect end to an otherwise not so perfect weekend. I'm really pleased to have won from sixth on the grid, and I want to thank my team for having given me such a car and such great support."
Joey Mawson (runner-up, Van Amersfoort Racing): "We succeeded in moving up from tenth on the grid to the podium. This is simply incredible and an absolutely perfect start to the season for us. The car was fast again, so I managed to do some overtaking. My aim was to finish ahead of Kim Luis Schramm, and that's exactly what I managed to do. I am happy for Mick who was my team-mate at Van Amersfoort Racing last year."
Thomas Preining (third, Lechner Racing): "The race went very well and of course a bit in my favour. We know that we can easily finish in the Top Five under our own steam. We're not quite podium candidates yet, but we are very close. "
Nicklas Nielsen (P8 and Best Rookie, Neuhauser Racing): "It was a good weekend and we had good pace at all times. We will certainly improve as the season progresses. I think that we will already be better by the time the Sachsenring comes round."