Tales from the paddock and the season opener at Oschersleben

• Three races, three winners: Petecof, Krütten and Rookie Stanek
• Arthur Leclerc secures a podium on first appearance in ADAC Formula 4
• Stanek heads ADAC Formula 4 standings in run-up to races at Austria’s Red Bull Ring

Oschersleben: Three exciting races marked ADAC Formula 4’s return from its winter break. Conditions were variable and quite challenging for the Oschersleben season opener which produced three different winners. Gianluca Petecof (16, Brazil, Prema Theodore Racing) led the field home in the first race on Saturday while Niklas Krütten (16, Germany, Van Amersfoort Racing) and rookie Roman Stanek (15, Czech Republic, US Racing CHRS) won on Sunday. Arthur Leclerc (18, Monaco, US Racing CHRS), the brother of Formula 1 shooting star Charles Leclerc, did well straightway and secured a podium on his ADAC Formula 4 debut.

The ADAC High-Speed Academy’s next race weekend will take place in six weeks’ time, June 7th - 9th, when Races 4, 5 and 6 will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Rookie Stanek travels to Spielberg at the head of the standings, followed by Niklas Krütten and Joshua Dürksen (15, Paraguay, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.).

Full house: The grandstands were full, as many spectators came to watch the ADAC Formula 4 season opener held under the banner of the ADAC GT Masters once again this year. More than 25,000 fans travelled to Oschersleben this weekend to watch thrilling race action from the formula racing juniors and also from the ADAC GT Masters, the ADAC TCR Germany and the new ADAC GT4 Germany which offered plenty of variety and excitement. Not even showers of rain could dampen the motor racing fans’ spirits.

Will the series continue? Gianluca Petecof was not too bothered about failing to score points in the second and third races. He was able to get over it, comforted by the thought that a historic series in the ADAC Formula 4 might continue, because so far, the winner of the season-opener has also gone on to win the championship title in the end. That has happened in previous seasons for Marvin Dienst (2015), Joey Mawson (2016), Juri Vips (2017) and Lirim Zendeli (2018). Will history repeat itself in 2019 with Petecof? “The season is still young, and there are a lot of races to get through, and that’s my focus,” said the Brazilian.

Out-distanced: A whopping 14.132 seconds was the lead that 16-year-old Gianluca Petecof pulled out on his main rival, Roman Stanek, as he cruised to victory in the very first race of the season and made history. No other driver before him has ever won an ADAC Formula 4 race by such a big margin. He really savoured his win and celebrated his historic victory wrapped in the Brazilian flag.

Strong showing by Rookies: Teething problems? Apparently not for the ADAC Formula 4 rookies from the 2019 cohort. 15-year-old Roman Stanek immediately impressed with second place in the first race, and Paul Aron finished fourth in the second race. With a win in Sunday’s final race, Roman Stanek even took the lead in the championship rankings. Please note: in the overall, not Rookie standings.

All new: Admittedly, the bar is set very high, as in 2018, US Racing CHRS won both the team title as well as the drivers’ (Lirim Zendeli) and Rookie title (David Schumacher). But even the four new drivers, Arthur Leclerc, Roman Stanek, Theo Pourchaire and Alessandro Ghiretti also make you want more. The four of them achieved good results right away, scoring points for US Racing CHRS.

Famous name: Arthur Leclerc added his name to the list of famous drivers in the ADAC Formula 4. The brother of Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc is making his debut in the German series for juniors this year. Mick and David Schumacher are perhaps the biggest names to have contested the ADAC Formula 4, but there have also been many other well-known drivers in the series, such as Enzo Fittipaldi and Jack Doohan, for example.

Old friend: 2018 champion Lirim Zendeli also took the opportunity to attend the ADAC Formula 4 season opener. He is contesting this year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship and has some great memories of his time in the ADAC Formula 4, having won ten races in all. By the way, Zendeli also passed on a few tips and gave the class of 2019 the benefit of his experience. “Sure, we talked,” said championship leader Stanek with a smile. “But I’m not about to reveal what was said. It’s a secret!”

Class photo: The traditional photo of this year’s juniors was taken on Sunday morning. The 18 drivers took time out in between the second and third races for the obligatory photo session and smiled happily for the camera.

Heading to the Alps: The ADAC Formula 4 drivers now have to wait almost six weeks before the next series of races take place from June 7th to 9th at the Red Bull Ring in Styria. This will be the first of two race meetings for the ADAC High-Speed Academy to be held outside of Germany’s borders this year. Zandvoort on the Dutch North Sea coast will be the other venue abroad.