Ralf Aron (17, EST, Prema Powerteam) won the exciting third ADAC Formula 4 race at the Nürburgring. Racing in wet conditions, the Prema Powerteam youngster secured his maiden win in the ADAC High-Speed Academy. Lando Norris (15, GBR, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) finished second on the podium and was also best-placed rookie. Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Juniorteam), who won the first two races, rounded off his strong showing this weekend with third place.
“Driving in these conditions was tricky, but visibility was good at all times, and the battles were immense fun,” said Aron. The race began behind the safety car because of the rain and the tricky conditions. The Estonian youngster did not get the best of starts and dropped back down the field from fourth to sixth position. Aron’s big chance came after the re-start on the seventh lap following a safety car deployment, triggered when Marylin Niederhauser (20, CHE, Race Performance) skidded off track.
Aron quickly moved up two places and then won through in a battle for third place with Mick Schumacher (16, GER, Van Amersfoort Racing). On the tenth lap, Aron came out on top in a thrilling scrap with title contender Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) and took over the lead one lap later from pole-setter Tim Zimmermann (18, GER, Neuhauser Racing). He crossed the finish line with a lead of 2.934 seconds on Norris in second place.
The newcomer to formula racing, driving for kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, secured his second podium finish during this fifth race weekend of the 2015 season. Norris has achieved four podiums in his six races in the ADAC Formula 4 so far. The 15-year-old went on a charge up the field from eighth on the grid on Sunday. DTM driver Maximilian Götz presented him with the trophy on the podium for best-placed rookie.
Championship leader Dienst worked his way up the field to third position from P10 on the grid. He made his decisive move with four laps to go when he won a thrilling three-way battle with Zimmermann and Eriksson, taking third place as a result. HTP Juniorteam team-mate Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Juniorteam) and Robert Shwartzman (15, RUS, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) placed fourth and fifth respectively.
Title contender Eriksson had to be content with sixth place. The Motopark driver had a tricky weekend in the Eifel, losing the overall lead to Dienst. The 18-year-old was the big winner at the Nürburgring. Before the weekend, Dienst was third in the championship standings with a deficit of 34 points on Eriksson in the lead. But after the 15th race of the year, he now leads with 194 points. His closest rival, Eriksson, is on 184. Placed third overall in the standings, Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing) on 173 points also still has a good chance of winning the inaugural ADAC Formula 4 championship. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver finished the final race on the legendary track in seventh place. Rookie David Beckmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Zimmermann and Schumacher completed the Top Ten. The sixth race weekend of the ADAC Formula 4 will take place at the Sachsenring from 28th to 30th August 2015.
Redazione MotoriNoLimits
