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ADAC Formula 4·23.2.2022

Career springboard: Three drivers line up in Formula 1

No fewer than three former ADAC Formula 4 drivers are in action at the official tests for the 2022 Formula 1 season, which are taking place in Barcelona, Spain. German Mick Schumacher and Lando Norris from Great Britain already have experience in the pinnacle of motorsport. Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou is set to make his debut for Alfa Romeo.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is by no means uncharted territory for Guanyu Zhou, who raced there in his Formula 2 days. Over the next few days, lifelong dream will come true for the 22-year-old at the 4.675-kilometre circuit, as he has secured a seat in Formula 1. Zhou will line up in his rookie season for the Alfa Romeo F1 Team in 2022. Back in 2015, Zhou took his first steps in ADAC Formula 4 with Prema Powerteam. The driver from Shanghai promptly claimed three podiums in the talent factory. He is now the first Formula 1 driver from his native China.

Lando Norris is another step further down his career path. Also 22 years of age, Norris can already call on the experience of 60 Grand Prix starts. He has held a seat with the McLaren F1 Team since 2019 and has four podium finishes to his name so far. Norris made his debut in the ADAC’s high-speed school at Spa-Francorchamps in 2015 and took victory at the first attempt. His subsequent performances in Formula 3 and Formula 2 were rewarded with a seat in Formula 1.

Zhou, Norris and Mick Schumacher all featured on the grid in that race at the Ardennes rollercoaster seven years ago. The three former Formula 4 drivers are now set for a reunion in Formula 1. 22-year-old Schumacher drove for Prema Powerteam in his final season in ADAC Formula 4 in 2016, finishing runner-up behind Joey Mawson (Australia). Since then, he has benefitted from what he learned in the junior series as he climbed the career ladder. Schumacher starts for the Haas F1 Team in his second season.

17 drivers have now progressed through the ADAC school on their way to the pinnacle of motorsport. The first of these was Ralf Schumacher, uncle of Mick Schumacher, who started in ADAC Sonax Formula Junior in 1992 and made his Formula 1 debut in 1997.