Joey Mawson is the new ADAC Formula 4 champion

• Australian clinches the title at Hockenheim ahead of time
• Mick Schumacher finishes sixth after starting from 23rd
• Ortmann and Vips complete the podium party

Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) is the new champion in the second season of ADAC Formula 4. The Australian won the 22nd race of the campaign on Saturday in the grand finale at Hockenheim and cannot now be overtaken by any other contestant. After his ninth win of the season and with two races still to go, Mawson has 349 points on the board, 56 more than his main rival Mick Schumacher (17, Germany, Prema Powerteam). The son of record Formula 1 championship winner Michael Schumacher put in a strong performance to finish in sixth place after starting from 23rd, but this was not enough to keep his title chances alive.

“Well done, Joey, and congratulations on winning the title,” said Mick Schumacher, adding with a grin, “Our battle will continue.” Mawson himself was overjoyed: “It’s an amazing feeling, simply the best. It still hasn’t quite sunk in. I suppose it will take a few days. I certainly feel that a lot of pressure has come off. Now I’m just going to aim to finish as far forward as possible in the next two races.”

The Australian showed tremendous composure, just as he had throughout the season. Having started from second place, he closed the gap on ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Mike David Ortmann (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) within a couple of laps and soon got past. Watched by his mother who had made the long journey from Down Under for the grand finale, he then pressed home his advantage with determination. Finishing behind Mawson were Ortmann and Schumacher’s teammate Juri Vips (16, Estonia, Prema Powerteam) who lifted the Best Rookie trophy.

The Top Three were followed by rookie Lirim Zendeli (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), Thomas Preining (18, Austria, Lechner Racing) and Schumacher. The 17-year-old worked his way through the field from 23rd on the grid. However, he needed to finish at least third to prevent Mawson wrapping up the title prematurely. One consolation for Schumacher is that his points tally of 293 points means that he is definitely runner-up, as Ortmann on 241 points can no longer catch him up.

Completing the Top Ten were Job van Uitert (17, Netherlands, Jenzer Motorsport), Kami Laliberté (17, Canada, Van Amersfoort Racing), Simo Laaksonen (18, Finland, Motopark) and Kim-Luis Schramm (19, Germany, US Racing).

The penultimate race of the season takes place this afternoon. Mawson, who inherits the ADAC GT Masters title from the previous holder Marvin Dienst (19, Germany), starts from pole position. Germany’s biggest sports channel, SPORT1, will be showing the race live from 15:35 CEST. The second season of the ADAC High Speed Academy comes to an end on Sunday with the 24th and final race at 15:00 CEST (live on SPORT1). Schramm takes pole by virtue of finishing tenth in Race 1 while Mawson will start from tenth.

Further comments on the ADAC Formula 4 race

Joey Mawson (winner and new champion, Van Amersfoort Racing): “My team kept quiet about me being in line for the title for the entire race. I just blanked out what was going on behind me. It was only when I crossed the finish line that my team told me it was enough.”

Mike David Ortmann (second, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.): “The race went well at the beginning, and I managed to pull out a bit of a lead. But overall, Joey was simply superior. I can feel happy about this second place, though obviously another victory would have been nice.”

Juri Vips (third and best rookie, Prema Powerteam): “I couldn’t make any further progress forward, because Joey and Mike were really fast. So I had to control my own race, which I succeeded in doing. I’m generally happy with the way it went. Now I’m hoping that I can maybe win the Best Rookie title.”

Jeroen de Jong (Team Manager, Van Amersfoort Racing): “Joey did his job well. It’s magnificent that we have achieved this. We had to work hard, but we focused on treating the weekend just like any other. We still have two races to go, we’ve got four drivers in our team, and that’s what we’re going to concentrate on now. Tomorrow, we can celebrate, but today, it’s all about racing.”