Tales from the Zandvoort paddock

• Championship winner to be decided at Hockenheimring finale
• Brilliant weekend for Team ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.
• Schumacher reduces gap on Mawson

Zandvoort: The three races on the circuit in the dunes at Zandvoort produced three different winners as the ADAC Formula 4 debuted in the Netherlands. The championship winner was not decided in the Netherlands, so the ADAC Formula 4 title race will remain thrilling right up until the finale at the Hockenheimring (30th September - 2nd October).

Championship leader Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) did actually kick off the weekend with a win but then only managed to pick up just two points in the next two races. Mike David Ortmann (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), on the other hand, enjoyed a 'perfect weekend'. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé had already placed well on Saturday with P2 prior to securing his third victory of the season in the second race. Lirim Zendeli (16, Germany) also made a tremendous contribution to the excellent record of successes racked up by Team ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. at the weekend. He secured a one-two victory for the Berlin-based outfit by coming home behind Ortmann in Race 2, was best-placed rookie twice and posted best time on Saturday afternoon.

Title contender Mick Schumacher (17, Germany, Prema Powerteam) achieved podiums for third place twice and took vital points out of former team-mate Mawson, who is on 324 points in the overall standings and ahead of the son of record F1 championship winner Michael Schumacher. With three races to go, Schumi Junior (285) is only 39 points adrift. Ortmann (223) is 101 points down on Mawson and is out of contention for second and third place. Kami Laliberté (16, Canada, Van Amersfoort Racing) took his maiden win in the ADAC Formula 4.

Nicklas Nielsen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing, 282) still leads the rookie standings from Juan Manuel Correa (17, USA/Ecuador, Prema Powerteam, 261.5) and Juri Vips (16, Estonia, Prema Powerteam, 243). In the team rankings, Italian Prema Powerteam (390.5) have overtaken Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing (368 points). ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. have a good haul of points (310) but are still behind Kerpen-based outfit US Racing (330) led by Gerhard Ungar and ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher. The 2016 ADAC Formula 4 champion will now be crowned at the big season finale at the Hockenheimring (30th September - 2nd October).

Newcomer: Devlin DeFrancesco (16, Canada, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) posted his first kilometres in the ADAC Formula 4 and made a remarkable debut. By the way, the Canadian, who is currently third overall in the British Formula 4 series, has always been very speedy ever since birth. He was a 'prem' baby and weighed just less than a pound but has in the meantime come along splendidly as 14th place in the second ADAC Formula 4 race proves.

Best result: Back at the wheel since Spielberg, local driver Janneau Esmeijer (19, Netherlands, Team Timo Scheider) made this the best race weekend ever in the ADAC Formula 4 for Team Timo Scheider in his home race. On the circuit in the dunes, the 19-year-old, who lives in Amsterdam, improved on his tenth place from Race 1 to finish fifth in the second race. Esmeijer is ranked 20th overall in the standings after contesting nine races.

Putting what they have learned into practice: Two former pupils of the ADAC High Speed Academy also impressed in Zandvoort. Last year's champion Marvin Dienst (19, Germany, bigFM Racing Team Schütz Motorsport) in fourth place narrowly missed the podium in the first ADAC GT Masters race. However, ADAC Formula 4 championship runner-up Joel Eriksson (18, Sweden, Motopark) achieved a start-finish victory in the Masters of Formula 3 which was also guesting at the circuit on the Dutch coast. Previous winners of the well-established race, held under the banner of the ADAC GT Masters in Zandvoort, include Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg and Max Verstappen.

Pushing the boat out: Van Amersfoort Racing, Motopark and Mücke Motorsport had a large contingent of cars and drivers in action at Zandvoort. Van Amersfoort Racing fielded four ADAC Formula 4 racing drivers for their home fixture along with three more in the Masters of Formula 3. Motopark deployed no less than four cars in the Formula 3 event and three single-seaters in the ADAC Formula 4. Mücke Motorsport, who line up in the ADAC Formula under the aegis of the ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., brought along a Formula 3 car for 2015 ADAC Formula 4 rookie champion and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé, David Beckmann.

Racking up the points: Whether it will be enough in the end remains to be seen, but with three races to go before the finale of the ADAC Formula 4 season at the Hockenheimring, championship leader Joey Mawson has already accrued almost as many points as last year's champion, Marvin Dienst, racked up in total. While Dienst won the first season in 2015 with eight wins and 347 points, the Australian has already secured a whopping 324 points and eight victories in the run-up to the final weekend of the last season. Despite his lead, the 20-year-old from the Sydney area knows he needs to 'keep cool'. The 'Beach Boy' did just that in Zandvoort by venturing into the refreshing waters of the North Sea for a quick dip.

Followers: Mike David Ortmann was first and foremost delighted with his sporting achievements at the weekend, of course, but was also pleased to see that he'd just gained his 3,000th follower on Facebook. Still, with 'only' 3,000 followers, Ortmann is well behind team-mate Lirim Zendeli, who has more than 20,000.

For first time ever: The weather was not always kind to the drivers at the weekend. The third race at Zandvoort had to be stopped before the end following two collisions due to the adverse conditions. For the first time ever, half points only were awarded for the 21st race of the season, since drivers had covered less than 75 percent of the scheduled race distance.