Pole positions for Herzog and Picariello at the Red Bull Ring

• Florian Herzog in pole position for the opening race in Austria
• First pole for ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Herzog
• Alessio Picariello on pole for the second race on Sunday

Red Bull Ring (Austria) - Qualifying

Date: 11 August 2012
Weather: Rain, 14°C
Circuit length: 4.326 km
Pole Race 1: Florian Herzog
Pole Race 2: Alessio Picariello

Spielberg – Florian Herzog (18, Dresden, Mücke Motorsport) secured best time in the Formel ADAC qualifying session and is on pole for the first of three points-scoring races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. It is the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé’s first pole position and the third one overall this year for his team Mücke Motorsport. Herzog is the seventh different driver to bag the top spot this season for a Formel ADAC race.

“I was lucky not to slide off the track on my last flying lap but ultimately my gamble paid off,” he said. Herzog posted a 1:36.928, the fastest lap time, with about eight minutes to go before the end of the session. Shortly after that, heavy rain showers prevented his rivals from improving their times.

Gustav Malja (16, SWE, Neuhauser Racing) secured the second fastest time and shares the front row of the grid with Herzog for the start of the season’s 13th race. The three-time race winner covered the 4.326km circuit in 1:37.091 minutes on his fastest lap and was just 0.163 seconds off the pace. Third place on the grid went to Alessio Picariello (18, BEL, G & J / Schiller Motorsport), which means there are three aspiring drivers from three different countries and teams in the top three.

Jason Kremer (17, Bonn, Mücke Motorsport) completes the second row line-up in fourth place. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé achieved his first two pole positions in the ADAC Formel 'school' at the last race weekend at the Nürburgring. The only female driver on the grid, Beitske Visser (17, NED, Lotus), shares the third row with Hendrik Grapp (18, Berlin, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.).

Kuba Dalewski (16, POL, Lotus) and Luca Caspari (16, Meerbusch, Mücke Motorsport) will be in seventh and eighth place respectively for the start of the first points-scoring race. Championship leader Marvin Kirchhöfer (18, Leipzig, Lotus) only managed to secure eleventh position on the grid.

Picariello is on pole for Sunday’s second race. Positions on the grid are allocated according to the second-fastest lap times in qualifying. This is the second time that the Belgian driver has headed up the very front of the grid at the start of a Formel ADAC race. The two Mücke drivers, Herzog and Kremer, will be in second and third place respectively.

Florian Herzog (18, Dresden, Mücke Motorsport), Pole Position Race 1:

„My first pole in Formel ADAC – what a great achievement. When it started raining, I decided to go for it and floored the pedal. I was lucky not to slide off the track on my last flying lap but ultimately my gamble paid off. Pole position is an ideal starting point for the first race. On the other hand though, I've never driven in the rain before at the Red Bull Ring. But of course, I’ll push hard to get my first win.“

Alessio Picariello (18, BEL, G&J / Schiller-Motorsport), Pole Position Race 2:

„It's great to be on pole position for the second race. We had quite a few problems on Friday, but we worked hard after practice to sort them out and find a better racing line. Conditions were very good at the start of qualifying and I succeeded in posting fastest time. When it began to rain, I drove to the pits and waited.“