Fabian Schiller secures first victory in Formel ADAC

• Three rookies on podium for first time this season
• Jason Kremer goes on the weekend’s best charge at the Lausitzring
• Schiller on his maiden win: “My first victory – it’s just fantastic”

Lausitzring – Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) won the third race at the Lausitzring, securing his maiden victory in the Formel ADAC. Schiller was the second driver to secure his maiden win during the sixth race weekend of 2013 after the two wins by Maximilian Günther (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.). “My first podium in the Formel ADAC and I’m on the top rung – it's just fantastic,” said a happy Schiller, whose best result to date had been a fifth place.

The Schiller Motorsport rookie took over the lead right at the start from pole-setter Stefan Riener (18, Austria, Neuhauser Racing) and went on to secure his maiden victory. Riener stayed in contact with Schiller until the very end but did not mount an overtaking manoeuvre. The Austrian youngster finished on the podium for the first time in his debut season in the ADAC’s High-Speed Academy.

For first time this year, three newcomers to the series on podium

The third place on the podium also went to a series newcomer. Ralph Boschung (15, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport) completed the party on the podium, but made everyone catch their breath in the last seconds of the final race at the Lausitzring. On the final lap, the KUG Motorsport youngster collided with Alessio Picariello (20, Belgium, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) in hot pursuit as they were about to drive along the start/finish straight and slid into the crash barriers. Boschung was unable to continue, but race stewards decided to stop the race. And so, the penultimate round was regarded as the official result and Boschung kept his place on the podium. Three newcomers finished on the podium for the first time this year.

Picariello, who had fought his way up from eighth on the grid to fourth place, was handed a drive-through penalty for causing the incident with Boschung. His drive-through was converted into a 30-second time penalty after the race and the championship leader dropped down from P4 to P13.

Kremer makes weekend’s best charge

Jason Kremer (18, Germany, Schiller Motorsport) moved up into fourth place as a result of Picariello’s penalty. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé went on the best charge of the weekend: the Schiller Motorsport driver had begun the race in 20th position on the grid but fought his way up through the field to be rewarded with another good result after his podium in the first race. Marvin Dienst (16, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) crossed the finish line in fifth place behind Kremer. Mikkel Jensen (18, Denmark, Lotus) was the best-placed driver for reigning team champions Lotus, securing sixth place. The Danish youngster had started from third position on the grid and for a long time was on course to take a podium but was bumped down the field in the second half of the race.

ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Günther was seventh. Nicolas Beer (17, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) actually placed eighth but his name was removed from the rankings after the race for making a dangerous manoeuvre under yellow flags and he has been given a grid penalty of ten places in the next championship race. Red Bull junior Beitske Visser (18, Netherlands, Lotus) put in an excellent performance after retiring in the second race. The most successful female driver in the history of the Formel ADAC had started the race from last position but moved up twelve positions to finish eighth and secure three championship points. Local favourite Hendrik Grapp (19, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) and Indy Dontje (20, Netherlands, Lotus) secured the remaining points-scoring positions.

Title battle between ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. team-mates

Picariello travels as championship leader to the penultimate race weekend at the Slovakia Ring (13th to 15th September). The 20-year-old has led the overall standings since the season opener at Oschersleben and has amassed 288 points as the last six races of the year approach. Lausitzring double winner Günther is Picariello’s main rival in the title race. Günther, Picariello’s ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. team-mate is in second place overall with a deficit of 72 points.

Comments from the Top Three drivers

Fabian Schiller (16, Germany, Schiller Motorsport), Winner:
“My first podium in the Formel ADAC and I’m on the top rung – it's just fantastic. I took the lead at the start and kept it to the finish line. I could see Stefan behind me all the time in the mirror and had to push hard to stay on top. Although I was always on the limit, I was able to control the race well. I was overjoyed when I crossed the finish line and celebrated my first victory. I want to thank my team, because the car was really good today.”

Stefan Riener (18, Austria, Neuhauser Racing), Second:
“I’m very happy with my first podium in the Formel ADAC. Unfortunately, I couldn’t defend my pole position at the start, which was the key moment of my race. Throughout the whole of the race, I posted similar times to Fabian Schiller, but overtaking is quite difficult at the Lausitzring. I kept trying to duck out of his slipstream in order to increase downforce. Whilst in the end, it was not enough for victory, this result is still wonderful.”

Ralph Boschung (15, Switzerland, KUG Motorsport), Third:
“I got away to a good start and was soon in the top three. I tried many times to attack Stefan Riener but could not overtake him. I decided to nurse the tyres and finish the race in one piece. A few laps from the end, though, I saw Alessio Picariello looming larger in the rear-view mirror, so I upped the pressure. Unfortunately, he made contact with me on the last turn of the race. I thought my race was over, so I’m now even happier to be on the podium.”