Arthur Leclerc celebrated his first ADAC Formula 4 victory with his brother, Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc. FIA President Jean Todt and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Director Toto Wolff presented the winners' trophies. Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's Motorsport Adviser, congratulated Dennis Hauger on a successful outing during the Formula 1 weekend at the Hockenheimring. Also, Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly stopped by to see his former outfit, Team R-ace GP. Mick Schumacher posted several laps in the legendary Ferrari F2004, with which his father Michael became world champion, and five ADAC Formula 4 drivers got to visit Scuderia Ferrari's garage. The ADAC Formula 4's race weekend as support to Formula 1 certainly provided plenty of spectacle and memories to last a lifetime.
VIPs on podium: Jean Todt, President of the FIA, and Toto Wolff, Motorsport Director at Mercedes-AMG, were delighted to recognise the achievements of the winning drivers from the ADAC Formula 4. Together with ADAC Sports President Hermann Tomczyk, they presented the winner's trophies to Dennis Hauger, Théo Pourchaire, Gianluca Petecof and rookie, Roman Stanek, on Saturday. "It was great. The atmosphere here is generally terrific. Todt is a real legend and it was a great honour for me to receive my trophy from him," said Hauger while Pourchaire was delighted when Toto Wolff handed him his trophy: "He's one of motorsport's greats, but I've only ever known him from TV until now!"
Premiere for young Leclerc: Interest in 18-year-old Arthur Leclerc, the brother of Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc, was certainly great this weekend. However, he did not let that bother him. On the contrary, he secured his maiden victory in the ADAC Formula 4 in Sunday's race and was highly delighted: "Listening to the anthem play was a very, very special moment." And one he would like to repeat in the future? "Definitely! For sure! I hope there are many more victories to come," he said. By the way, his brother, Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc, was the first to congratulate him, cheering loudly as he did so.
VIP guests at ADAC: The ADAC entertained many VIP guests this weekend, including ADAC Formula 4 Rookie champion and son of Ralf Schumacher, David Schumacher, restaurant owner Clarissa Käfer, Fabian Vettel, the brother of four-time Formula 1 World Champion and ADAC Formula 4 patron Sebastian Vettel , DTM legend Bernd Schneider, DMSB President Hans-Joachim Stuck, former Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Director Norbert Haug, Wilfried Eibach, Head of Eibach Springs, and ADAC Sports Foundation Chairman Wolfgang Dürheimer.
Members of ADAC Presidium at Hockenheim: Members of the ADAC governing body, board members of the ADAC SE and managers from the ADAC eV were also invited to come along to Hockenheim as guests of the ADAC. Jens Kuhfuß, ADAC Vice-President for Finance, Karsten Schulze, ADAC Vice-President for Engineering, Gerhard Hillebrand, ADAC Vice-President for Transport, and ADAC SE Board Members Mahbod Asgari and Jörg Helten came to watch the Formula 1 race and were joined by ADAC CEO Lars Soutschka and representatives from the ADAC Board of Admin and from the ADAC's regional clubs.
Paddock visit: Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly took the opportunity to visit the ADAC Formula 4 paddock and was particularly keen to see his former team, R-ace GP, with whom he contested the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup in 2012. Gasly joined Red Bull's development programme two years later and made his debut in the premier class for Toro Rosso in 2017. He is now a regular driver at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.
Reunion with Mick Schumacher: It was a great moment when 20-year-old Mick Schumacher, (2016 ADAC Formula 4 championship runner-up), the son of record Formula 1 world championship winner Michael Schumacher, fired up the Ferrari's engine. He posted several laps in the legendary Ferrari F2004 as driven by his father to the delight of fans at the Hockenheimring. "I was full of emotion while posting those laps," he said. "There was not a single moment when I did not have a big smile on my face."
Congratulations: Norwegian driver Dennis Hauger shook hands with lots of people this weekend but was especially proud of the moment when Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's motorsport consultant, came along to the awards ceremony to congratulate him on his strong performance. Hauger is a Red Bull Junior, and Marko is very interested in how he's doing in the ADAC Formula 4 and closely follows his development.
Behind the scenes with the premiere class: Arthur Leclerc, Roman Stanek, Théo Pourchaire, Gianluca Petecof and Niklas Krütten had a very special date on Thursday. The race weekend began for the five ADAC Formula 4 drivers with a meeting with Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver showed the young drivers around the Scuderia's garage, answered their questions and gave them tips. "It's an indescribable feeling, simply mega. You quickly get a good impression just how hard crews in the Formula 1 garage work," said Ferrari Junior, Petecof.
Big stage: The ADAC Formula 4 drivers had no sooner finished their first practice session on Friday before it was time to continue on to the next activity. The whole field presented themselves to the many spectators on the big stage in the fan zone, signed autographs, posed for selfies and soaked up the great atmosphere in the premier class. "It was pretty awesome and definitely a lot of fun," said Krütten: "I could get used to it. I really enjoyed being there alongside the big guys."
Exchanging views: Representatives from the FIA, the race organisers and the ADAC met up at the invitation of the DMSB to chat over dinner. FIA race director Michael Masi and ex-British Formula 1 driver Derek Warwick were also at the meeting.
Two in a row: The first six ADAC Formula 4 races had produced six different winners until Norwegian driver, Dennis Hauger, triumphed on Saturday at Hockenheim. He is the first to take a second victory this year. Overall, he was delighted with his weekend. "We secured a good haul of points, putting us in a good position in the championship," he said.
Old friend: Still remember the Australian, Joey Mawson? He took the ADAC Formula 4 title in 2016 after a hard-fought duel with Mick Schumacher. 23-year-old Mawson now competes in the Porsche Supercup. He told us that it was really nice to see so many old friends. He is also doing very well now as a rookie in the Supercup where he secured seventh place in the race.