Full-throttle in the Dunes: Zandvoort welcomes talented youngsters

• New layout at CM.com Circuit Zandvoort promises more action
• Up to 3000 spectators per day permitted at the racetrack again
• Van Amersfoort Racing tops the table in all categories ahead of its home event

Munich. The stage is set for round two of ADAC Formula 4: the circuit nestled in the dunes near the Dutch town of Zandvoort provides the stage for another spectacular show from the ADAC’s high-speed school – and on a new track layout. Last year, the Formula 1 circuit was left off the calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, during which time it has been remodelled. This weekend (9th to 11th July), the talented youngsters will be back battling it out for championship points in the dunes on the North Sea Coast of Holland. Two new banked corners provide more overtaking opportunities, and thus more racing action. As at the season-opener at Austria‘s Red Bull Ring about a month ago, spectators are welcome. Up to 3,000 visitors per day can watch the ADAC GT Masters, for which ADAC Formula 4 lines up as a support series, live at CM.com Circuit Zandvoort – and in holiday season. The three races are available live on motorsport.tv and adac.de/motorsport on Saturday and Sunday (10th and 11th July).

The Van Amersfoort Racing team is extra motivated ahead of its home event, and is brimming with confidence. The iconic team from the Netherlands tops all three categories – driver, rookie and team – after the season-opener in Spielberg. Team principal Frits van Amersfoort knows that “expectations are obviously high after what we have seen so far. However, we know that the opposition is strong and a lot can happen on a race weekend. The fact is that our drivers are very motivated and we, as a team, have confidence in the potential of each and every one of them.”

Oliver Bearman (16) has made a particularly good impression. The Brit set fastest times at the tests in Oschersleben, before bagging a brace of wins at the Red Bull Ring. The Van Amersfoort driver consequently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 50 points. As well as Bearman, who spent his rookie season with Kerpen-based US Racing in 2020, Nikita Bedrin (15, Russia) and Cenyu Han (16, China) also finished on the podium in Styria. The young Russian also tops the Rookie standings. The VAR team now is now looking to back up its recent success in front of a home crowd.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to assess the rest of the field so early in the season. Britain’s Luke Browning (19, US Racing) trails Bearman by just five points, followed by Sebastian Montoya (16, Prema Powerteam), son of former Formula 1 driver and Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya, with 32 points in third place. The Columbian from the Prema Powerteam missed out on his first victory of the season as the result of a false start in race three in Spielberg. He is now hungry to make amends in Zandvoort. Hamburg’s Tim Tramnitz (16), who is supported by ADAC Stiftung Sport and drives for the US Racing team, is just one point behind Montoya in the Drivers’ Championship and is optimistic ahead of the second race weekend in the German Formula 4 series: “My goal for this weekend is obviously to challenge for the win and score as many points as possible. It is a long season, and there is still everything to play for.”

In total, 23 drivers will be in action at the weekend. As in Spielberg, the field in Zandvoort includes two female drivers: Maya Weug from Belgium (17, Iron Lynx), the first young lady to be accepted into the Ferrari Driver Academy squad, and Hamda Al Qubaisi from the United Arab Emirates (18, Prema Powerteam) will have another opportunity to pick up points for their teams.

ADAC Formula 4 last visited Zandvoort in August 2019. After a two-year break, the anticipation ahead of the return to the Dutch dunes is all the greater. The two free practice sessions on Friday (9:10 and 13:35) will give a first indication of the balance of power, before qualifying gets underway at 18:15 that evening. This will determine the grid positions for the opening race on Saturday (11:50) and race two on Sunday (09:10). In the third and final race of the weekend (Sunday, 13:45), the top eight from race two start in reverse order.