After a break of almost ten months, the 2020 ADAC Formula 4 season has at last got underway at the Lausitzring. In mainly summery conditions on Saturday and Sunday, the talented youngsters of the ADAC High-Speed Academy had the opportunity to get the measure of each other in the course of the official preseason tests. The sessions were staged in compliance with strict anti-Covid precautions. One pair of team-mates made a particularly strong impression, namely Jonny Edgar (16, England, Van Amersfoort Racing) and Jak Crawford from the USA, one year his junior, as they set the pace for most of the two test days at the circuit south of Berlin. But the overall best time went to the British teenager Oliver Bearman (15) of US Racing, who was a triallist at the Kerpen-based outfit this weekend.
"I am very satisfied with the way the tests have gone," said Edgar after setting the fastest time in three of the seven sessions and finishing second overall at the end of the two days of testing. "The car feels good, but I was having problems on a few of the corners." Crawford, who set the fourth fastest time of the two days, just behind Vlad Lomko (15, Russia, US Racing), was also happy with his performance and was sounding upbeat about the campaign: "I'm looking forward to the season and feel that I'm ready for what it is to come."
The field was highly competitive during the tests, so it promises to be another tight and absorbing contest. By virtue of their impressive test performance, US Racing have shown themselves to be prime contenders for the title yet again. The championship winners of the past two years have a completely new driver line-up, which includes Tim Tramnitz (15) from Hamburg. The rookie, who is a protegé of the ADAC Sports Foundation, had no perceptible problems adapting to a Formula 4 car, making it into the Top Four several times during the sessions and even topping the timesheets on Saturday afternoon. In the overall ranking for the two days he was sixth behind his team mate Elias Seppänen (16) from Finland.
Behind him was Joshua Dürksen. Despite his 16 years of age, the Paraguayan who drives for the Team ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. squad counts as a 'veteran' of ADAC Formula 4. The South American who now lives in Berlin is entering his second full season in the junior series - a new feature of this year's starting grid. Dürksen, who finished the rookie classification in third place last year, will be aiming to fully exploit the advantage of experience.
The weather in the Lausitz region provided favourable driving conditions on both days, with bright sunshine and summery temperatures of almost 30°C allowing the teams and drivers to focus on their preparations for the upcoming season. It was only during the final session on Sunday afternoon that a short, sharp shower brought the driving to a brief halt. In two weeks' time (31st July - 2nd August), real championship points will be a stake for the first time, with the Lausitzring once again as venue for the racing action. Despite the late start to the season, the organisers have still managed to fit the usual seven race weekends into the calendar. The sixth season of the ADAC Formula 4 series will therefore give the talented youngsters plenty of driving experience and the opportunity to develop at the highest level.
Every weekend, the free-to-air TV channel SPORT1 will be showing at least one race live. There will also be live coverage on SPORT1+. All races can be watched online as a livestream with German and English commentary on SPORT1.de, youtube.com/adac and adac.de/motorsport.