Dream start: If the statistics are anything to go by, Jonny Edgar can already put the bubbly on ice for the 2020 ADAC Formula 4 championship. In the five seasons of the High-Speed Academy since the inception of the series, three drivers have registered two victories in the first two races: Marvin Dienst (2015), Joey Mawson (2016) and Lirim Zendeli (2018). All three subsequently went on to claim the title. But it is not only historical precedent that bodes well for the Van Amersfoort Racing driver: the consummate display of skilful driving from the English teenager in the three races at the Lausitzring made an instant impression. "To start the season with two victories is an incredible sensation," said the Red Bull Junior. "I feel very much at home in my new team."
The curse of being on pole: It had initially looked as if Edgar's team-mate Jak Crawford was going to steal the show. The American set the fastest time in both qualifying sessions, but being on pole was not necessarily a lucky omen. In the first race, he dropped down the field after a mediocre start, and in the second race had to let Edgar pass shortly before the end. Sounds familiar? In the season finale at the Sachsenring last year, the best time in the qualifying sessions did not automatically lead to a race victory, as the ultimate champion Theo Pourchaire can testify. Perhaps these statistics might give Crawford some degree of comfort.
Luck runs out: Oliver Bearman surprised everyone at the tests by posting the fastest lap over the two days, but at some point during the intervening two weeks and somewhere between home and the race track, the 15-year-old lost his Midas touch. In the qualifying sessions, the US racing junior was again fast, but in the actual races, nothing seemed to go right. In Race 1, he sustained a puncture in a scrap with Jak Crawford, while in the second race a bad start ruined any hopes of a podium. And in the third race, he went into the gravel and spun which temporarily dropped him down to the rear of the field. The saving grace was a gamble on tyres in the wet which brought Bearman up to sixth place.
Rookie emotions: This was a formula racing debut to be proud of. First weekend, a maiden overall podium and Best Rookie after the first three races - Tim Tramnitz went home from the Lausitzring with a big smile on his face. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé made an instant impression in terms of speed and assertive overtaking. Having finished fifth in the first race, his P3 on Sunday morning was rewarded with an appearance on the overall podium. In a rain-affected third race, he crossed the line in fifth again. "All in all, I'm very satisfied with the weekend," said Tramnitz. "Two Top Five finishes and a podium are very respectable for my first Formula 4 race weekend."
Role model: The talented youngsters in ADAC Formula 4 dream of a career in Formula 1, but they could equally contemplate a move to other racing series, especially the ones operating under the ADAC banner. On Sunday, ex-Formula 4 driver Charles Weerts showed the way ahead. In only his second race in the ADAC GT Masters, the Belgian partnered by Dries Vanthoor claimed a maiden victory. In 2018, Weerts finished fifth overall in the German Formula 4.
Back racing at last: The young drivers of the ADAC Formula 4 have had to wait a long time for their season to start; to be precise, there were a full 306 days between the 2019 season finale at the Sachsenring and the first practice session on Friday. The anticipation in the drivers was clearly evident during the official tests two weeks ago, but it was only last weekend that they got down to serious business. "It was simply great to at last compete in my first ADAC Formula 4 race," said Tim Tramnitz. The next generation of single-seater drivers will hardly have time to draw breath in the near future: the Nürburgring event is due to take place in as little as two weeks' time, and after that, it will be virtually non-stop racing until early November.