Alessio Picariello continues winning streak at Red Bull Ring

• Ninth win in fourteenth race of season: Alessio Picariello extends championship lead
• ADAC Sports Foundation protégés Maximilian Günther and Jason Kremer on podium
• Neuhauser Racing pair secure points in home fixture after unusual race

Spielberg – Series of wins continues in Austria: On Sunday morning, Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) won the second of three Formel ADAC races at the Red Bull Ring. The championship leader has now won the second race at each of this season’s five race weekends. “Nine victories and I’ve won the weekend’s second race each time – what a great feeling,” said the Belgian after the 14th race of the season.

Picariello laid the foundations for his second victory of the weekend during the fifth lap. Pole- setter Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) maintained his position in front of the Belgian in P2, but Picariello made a decisive overtaking manoeuvre when Günther locked up in the Castrol Edge turn. The 19-year-old had to remain very focused on the remaining eleven rounds, because Günther was not prepared to be shaken off. The 19-year-old had to remain very focused on the remaining eleven rounds, however, because Günther was not prepared to be shaken off. He could not get close enough to launch a successful overtaking manoeuvre, though, and so Picariello crossed the finish line 0.3 seconds ahead of the ADAC Sports foundation protégé. Günther remains the most successful of the twelve newcomers to the series after his seventh podium finish. At the chequered flag, Jason Kremer in third place had a deficit of 4.5 seconds on the speedy pair as he secured his second podium in Styria.

Lotus trio maintain excitement to very end

An exciting race developed behind the top three. The two Lotus team-mates Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) and Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus) were involved in thrilling scraps during the whole of the race. Dontje managed to stay ahead for a long time, until the final lap, when Jensen made a clean passing manoeuvre on the Dutchman to be rewarded with fourth place. Red Bull junior Beitske Visser (18, Netherlands, Lotus) also had an exciting race, overtaking Kim Luis Schramm (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) on the final lap. The most successful female driver in Formel ADAC history thus ensured that the Lotus trio finished in positions four, five and six. Despite damaging a rear wing half-way through the race, Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) came home in P8 behind Schramm.

Unusual race for Neuhauser Racing duo

Local driver Stefan Riener (18, Austria, Neuhauser Racing) had a real roller coaster of a ride on the hilly 4.326km track. The Neuhauser Racing driver was placed seventh until Lap 6, when he slid into the gravel bed and dropped down the field to P17. The young Austrian clawed his way back up the field, gaining eight places within the space of ten laps to finish in the points for the second time this weekend.

The race was also a thrilling affair for team-mate Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing). The Danish driver had a scrap with Kremer for third place, and lost out when he was overtaken on the eleventh lap by the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé in the Remus turn. Beer was judged to have overstepped the mark with this manoeuvre, landing himself with a drive-through. After serving his penalty by driving through the pit lane, he fell back down the field, but by the end of the race had fought his way back up the field to take a point for tenth place. The 17 year-old now has 139 points in the standings, sharing third place with Kremer. Picariello is still in front on 252 points, ahead of team-mate, Günther, who is currently placed second on 154 points.

Schiller starts from pole position in Sunday’s final race at 2:45pm (live stream available at www.adac.de/motorsport). He shares the front row on the grid with Schramm. The two Lotus drivers, Visser and Dontje, start the fifteenth race of the season third and fourth on the grid.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Alessio Picariello (19, Belgium, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), Winner:
“Nine victories and I’ve won the weekend’s second race each time – what a great feeling. I knew yesterday that today would not be easy, which turned out to be true, since my team-mate Maximilian defended his lead very well at the start. Only when he made a mistake was I able to take the lead but couldn’t shake him off. He was slipstreaming me, which certainly helped. I am again in grid position eight for the third race. A win is not impossible, as there was a lot of overtaking last year at the Red Bull Ring – a podium finish is a realistic target.”

Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), Second:
“I’m very happy with my race. My speed was very good and I was able to fend off Alessio to begin with. Unfortunately, I locked up a little later in turn one and so didn’t get the best line running through. My team-mate immediately took advantage of my error and passed me. I had no problems keeping pace with him and was even faster at times. I kept up the pressure to the finish line and was not prepared to give up the win. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough. In the third race, I'll try to collect important points for the championship. I am now back in second place overall and would like to go on reducing the deficit.”

Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport), Third:
“I’m pleased about achieving another podium, but an even better position might have been possible, as I was in the lead for a while on Lap 1 but then had to drop back a bit. Had the race been ten laps longer, I would have caught the front-runners. The incident with Nicolas Beer was a bit hairy. I was faster on the straights and wanted to draw up next to him. I had to move to the side and go on the grass, though, and was afraid of making contact with him on rejoining the track. I’m not too upset about his manoeuvre, though. After all, I did win the position. My two main competitors are behind me on the grid in the third race, so another decent result should be possible.”