ADAC Formel 4 

ADAC Formel 4·19.10.2020

Tales from the Red Bull Ring paddock: Internal team battle for the title attracts VIP interest

Team rivals: The 2020 ADAC Formula 4 title fight in is increasingly turning into an internal team affair: Jonny Edgar versus Jak Crawford, Red Bull Junior versus Red Bull Junior, Van Amersfoort Racing versus Van Amersfoort Racing. One of these two is almost certain to win the title, with Edgar taking a 28-point lead into the two remaining weekends. Although Elias Seppänen is not too far adrift, the pace and consistency that Edgar and Crawford showed on the Red Bull Ring make them the clear favourites. In fact, Edgar's lead had widened to 40 points after the second race in Austria, but Crawford's victory in race three and his rival's P7 narrowed the gap again. "We've got six races left, and anything can happen," said Crawford.

VIP observers: ADAC Formula 4 is often seen as the first step on a ladder leading to Formula 1. This weekend, the talented youngsters were given a glimpse of this ultimate goal. Not only is the Red Bull Ring itself a regular fixture on the calendar for the premier class; there were some prominent visitors in attendance, sizing up the field of up-and-coming juniors. Ralf Schumacher was checking out the form of his youthful US Racing squad, while Red Bull motorsport consultant Dr Helmut Marko will have been well impressed by the strong performance of his juniors, Edgar and Crawford. It was a perfect weekend to set out your stall.

Class reunion: For the first time this year, the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland shared the billing with ADAC Formula 4. For some of the drivers, it was a trip down memory lane. As many as four of the current line-up learned their trade at the ADAC High-Speed Academy, from where they made the step up to the next level in professional motorsport, namely Laurin Heinrich, Julian Hanses, Leon Köhler and former champion Joey Mawson. And the four of them turned in star performances on the Red Bull Ring. In the first race, the quartet finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth; in the second race, Heinrich once again made it into the Top Three. And in the final race of the weekend, there was a double podium for Heinrich (second place) and Köhler (third place).

Old acquaintance: Speaking of reunions, an old acquaintance returned to ADAC Formula 4 this weekend. Israel's Roee Meyuhas, who had already made a guest start at the Red Bull Ring last year, replaced Russia's Artem Lobanenko in the French R-ace GP team. And the 20-year-old saw a lot of action: in the first race Meyuhas finished ninth, in the second race tenth. A promising comeback!

Return: Corona makes planning difficult all over the world, and motorsport also demands flexibility in drawing up a calendar. For the talented youngsters in ADAC Formula 4, the consequence of all this uncertainty is that there will be no race weekend in Zandvoort; instead they will return to the Lausitzring in a fortnight's time. The circuit south of Berlin, which already hosted the season opener, could now give the first indication of where the trophies are heading. "I think that's even better for us, I guess," said Crawford who booked both pole positions on the first race weekend. "Also, with regard to the racing. I hope it will be a really good weekend."