ADAC Formula 4 'half-time championship' to be decided at Oschersleben

• High-flying Mawson aims to defend lead
• Mick Schumacher lurking in the wings
• Ortmann, Fittje and Schramm in three-way battle for third

ADAC Formula 4 returns to Oschersleben at the halfway mark in the season. On the weekend of 17th - 19th June, the Motorsport Arena will be staging races ten to twelve of this year's ADAC High Speed Academy. The campaign began in April at this same venue with three exciting races. The circuit near Magdeburg will be hosting both ADAC Formula 4 and ADAC TCR Germany under the aegis of the TCR International Series. Germany's top dedicated sports channel - SPORT1 - will broadcast all three races live. They can also be watched as a live stream on www.adac.de/formel-4 and www.SPORT1.de.

The strong field of ADAC Formula 4 contestants will be making their second visit of the 2016 season to the 3,696-metre track, having now accumulated the experience of competing in nine races over three weekends and hundreds of racing kilometres. Joey Mawson (20, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) arrives as championship leader on 152 points. His lead has recently shrunk to a mere three points. After seven podiums, Mawson struggled with technical problems in the final race at the Lausitzring and scored zero points for the first time this season. However, he remains upbeat: "I still lead the championship, and now we're returning to Oschersleben where I dominated the first race weekend."

The 20-year-old quite rightly has fond memories of the season opener there when he won the first two races ahead of Kim-Luis Schramm (18, Germany, US Racing), losing out only in the third race to Mick Schumacher (17, Germany, Prema Powerteam).

The son of record F1 championship winner Michael Schumacher poses the greatest threat to Mawson's title aspirations. With three wins, one second place and 149 points, 'Schumacher Junior' is breathing down his former team-mate's neck. The battle between Mawson and Schumacher is all set to be one of the highlights of the weekend. Mawson: "As former team-mates, Mick and I know each other very well. But on the track, he is just another opponent I'm aiming to leave behind. We've already had some pretty intense battles this year, and I'm assuming that it will continue that way over the next few races."

Trailing by quite a margin is the trio of Mike David Ortmann (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg, 100 points), Jannes Fittje (98 points) and Kim-Luis Schramm (95 points), all scrapping for third place. Schramm's two runner-up spots in the season opener suggest that the Oschersleben track is very much to his liking.

After already making one podium appearance at Oschersleben, ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Jannes Fittje (16, Germany, US Racing) wants to follow up his P2 finish in Race 3 at the Lausitzring with another - preferably on the top rung. US Racing, the outfit run by ex-Formula 1 and DTM driver Ralf Schumacher and Gerhard Ungar, has a total of six podiums so far, but they are still looking for their first win of 2016.

Mike David Ortmann, who came away from the Sachsenring with a double victory, had to settle for a solitary P3 finish from the three races at the Lausitzring, his home track. He is now looking to Oschersleben for more Top Three placings: "At the Lausitzring, we scored vital points towards the championship and now have certain expectations of the mid-season races at Oschersleben."

Home fixture for Team Motopark / Developments in the Best Rookie standings

For Team Motopark with its squad of Sophia Flörsch (15, Germany), Jonathan Aberdein (18, GB) and Simo Laaksonen (17, Finland), Oschersleben represents a home fixture. Joining the line-up there is Dutch teenager Richard Verschoor (15) who is about to make his ADAC Formula 4 debut. Motopark announced the arrival of the Red Bull Junior in mid-May. In addition to the races at Oschersleben, Verschoor has been booked for the Red Bull Ring in Austria (22nd - 24th July) and Hockenheim (30th September - 2nd October).

ADAC Sports Foundation protégée Sophia Flörsch also has good memories of Oschersleben after twice finishing in the Top Ten on the opening weekend. In the third of the three races, she even became the first female driver in the history of the junior formula series to lead the field.

As the season approaches its midway point, the situation in the Best Rookie classification is quite tight: Nicklas Nielsen (19, Denmark, Neuhauser Racing) leads the way on 139 points ahead of team-mate Felipe Drugovich (16, Brazil, 130 points) and Juan Manuel Correa (16, USA/Ecuador, Prema Powerteam, 128 points). With strong performances at the Lausitzring, 'surprise winner' Fabio Scherer (17, Switzerland, Jenzer Motorsport, 95 points) and Lirim Zendeli (16, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., 93 points) have made a giant leap up the table.

The ADAC High Speed Academy is staging six race weekends during the 2016 season in association with the ADAC GT Masters, plus one as a support series to the combined ADAC GT Masters and the DTM at the Lausitzring and one in the context of the TCR International Series at Oschersleben. Broadcasting partner SPORT1 is showing the races live on its free-to-air TV channel as well as online and on mobile devices.

ADAC Formula 4 has extended deals with other established partners into the 2016 season. The turbocharged engine for the Formula 4 racing car is supplied by Abarth, while the chassis comes from Italian manufacturer Tatuus. The Italian premium tyre manufacturer Pirelli - well known from Formula 1 - and wheel rim manufacturer Motec also contribute to the build of the ADAC Formula 4 cars. Two other series partners are suspension specialist Eibach and DEKRA, one of the world's leading vehicle inspection companies. Auto Zeitung continues to be the official media partner.