Season highlight: ADAC Formula 4 alongside Formula 1

• Future stars will line up under Formula 1 banner at Hockenheim
• ADAC Formula 4 drivers seeking to emulate Sebastian Vettel

Munich: The premier class is beckoning, as the ADAC Formula 4 will stage its races within the context of the Emirates Formula 1 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring Baden Württemberg. This race weekend should prove to be one of the big highlights of the season for Formula 4 drivers when they get to rub shoulders with Formula 1 stars such as Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hülkenberg. It’s the first time that the ADAC’s High-Speed Academy has ever featured on the support programme of the premier class. SPORT1 will broadcast both ADAC Formula 4 races on TV this weekend, and live streams will also be available at www.adac.de/motorsport and www.SPORT1.de.

Every driver in the ADAC Formula 4 line-up dreams of a future in professional motorsport and want to use their time in the ADAC High-Speed Academy to lay the foundations that will help them attain that goal. For more than 25 years, the ADAC has actively sought to bring on young talents in formula racing by organising and running various series and we will be seeing former drivers from various ADAC series once again at Hockenheim. So far, 13 young talents have moved up to join Formula 1 from the ADAC junior formula series, including quite a few, who are among the current crop of drivers contesting the premier class. Sebastian Vettel is one of them. He has already secured four Formula 1 World Championship titles and is patron to the ADAC Formula 4. And then there’s also Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Perez from Mexico and Danish driver Kevin Magnussen.

It’s been seven weeks since the last race at the Red Bull Ring. Championship leader Lirim Zendeli (18, Germany, US Racing CHRS) and his fellow competitors have used the time to recharge their batteries and are now ready to return to the fray. Zendeli has amassed 199 points in the overall standings. He went on holiday to Macedonia with his family while Niklas Krütten (15, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), the leader in the Rookie classification, relaxed in Greece.

But the pace is now starting to pick up again, and everyone is really looking forward to the weekend. “It’s going to be amazing, driving as support to Formula 1. There’s nothing to touch it on this year’s calendar,” said Krütten. The races at Hockenheim are definitely going to be a mega highlight of the year for him and everyone in the field.

There are two races on the programme, one on Saturday at 5.00 pm and the other on Sunday at 10.10 am. As usual, the ADAC Formula 4 championship is an extremely close-fought affair in the run-up to this year’s stand-out race meeting. Top title contender Zendeli is in the lead, but Liam Lawson (16, New Zealand, Van Amersfoort Racing), Enzo Fittipaldi (17, Brazil, Prema Theodore Racing) and Mick Wishofer (18, Austria, US Racing CHRS) are snapping at his heels. Zendeli practically swept the board when the ADAC Formula 4 last raced at Hockenheim in May of this year, securing two of the six wins he’s achieved so far and one third place. The front-runners have all already shown that they can be quick at the Hockenheimring, as Lawson finished runner-up twice while Wishofer took one win.

The Rookie competition is also still wide open with the spotlight on the battle between Niklas Krütten and David Schumacher (16, Germany, US Racing CHRS). Krütten is currently on 197 points, having pulled out a small lead on his rival, David (184), the son of Ralf Schumacher.