Double pole for title favourite and local hero Marvin Dienst

• Best possible situation for Marvin Dienst going into the season finale at Hockenheim
• Two front row lockouts for HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR
• Dienst: “If there is a race win in this for me, I’ll gladly accept it”

Hockenheim. Marvin Dienst (18, DEU, HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR) continues unerringly towards the championship title. In the grand finale to the 2015 ADAC Formula 4 season at the Hockenheimring, the main contender for the title secured pole position for Race 1 on Saturday (live coverage on SPORT1 commences at 11:55 CEST). Dienst will also be starting the second race (live coverage on SPORT1 commences at 17:20 CEST) on his home track from pole position. The local favourite could even clinch the title in the first of the three races. Janneau Esmeijer (18, NLD, HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR) lines up alongside his team-mate on the front row. Dienst’s closest title rival Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) qualified for both races in P4 behind Lando Norris (15, GBR, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport). Currently third in the table, Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing) will have to stage a charge up field on Saturday from sixth on the grid if he is to keep his title chances alive. With 75 points still available for the winners of the three races on the final weekend, Dienst leads the standings with a 30-point margin over Eriksson. Mawson has a 54-point deficit to make up.

Starting grid for race 1

Because of the high number of starters, qualifying was held in two groups. The starting grid for the first race is decided by the fastest lap times in qualifying. The driver with the outright best time starts from pole position. The fastest driver from the other group then takes second place on the grid. The remaining cars are lined up alternately behind the fastest driver in their group. This is to ensure equality of opportunity in the event that the two sessions were held under different weather conditions.

In Group A, it was initially two of the kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport youngsters who set the pace. Lando Norris topped the timesheets for a long while and was engaged in a close contest with his team-mate David Beckmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport). One minute before the end of the session, however, Marvin Dienst turned up the heat. The title favourite displaced Norris from P1 and then went on to improve his time even further. None of his opponents came anywhere near matching his 1:40.535-minute lap. Qualifying behind Dienst and Norris in Group A in third, fourth and fifth respectively are the three rookies David Beckmann, Mike Ortmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Mick Schumacher (16, DEU, Van Amersfoort Racing). The son of record Formula 1 world championship winner Michael Schumacher starts from ninth in the race.

Qualifying Group B was also won by a member of the HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR. Around two minutes before the end of the session, Dutch youngster Janneau Esmeijer took over at the top from Joey Mawson. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver was then bested by title contender Joel Eriksson in the closing stages. Esmeijer improved on his lap time twice more before the end. His closing time of 1:40.841 was almost three-tenths of a second slower than team-mate Dienst in Group A. Consequently, Esmeijer starts the race from second on the grid. Eriksson is in fourth position while Mawson will start from sixth.

Starting grid for race 2

The starting grid for the second race is determined by the second-best lap times set in qualifying. Again, Dienst was in a class of his own. The 18-year-old took 1:40.595 minutes to post his second fastest lap at the famous circuit in Baden-Württemberg. Janneau Esmeijer (1: 40.892) completes the front row, thereby making his contribution to a strong showing for HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR. Lando Norris (1:40.664) starts Race 2 from third place, once again ahead of Joel Eriksson (1:41.310). David Beckmann (1:40.950) leads row 3 as the best-placed rookie. Joey Mawson (1:41.369) and Mike Ortmann (1:41.346) take P6 and P7 respectively. Harrison Newey (17, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing) on 1:41.394 minutes completes the top eight ahead of team-mate Mick Schumacher (1:41.419).

Starting grid for Race 3

The Top Ten from the first race start the third race (live on SPORT1 at 16:00) in reverse order. So the race winner goes to P10 on the grid and the tenth-placed driver occupies pole position for the third race. The cars that finished from eleventh place downwards in Race 1 line up in the same positions in the final race.

Marvin Dienst (18, DEU, HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR), Pole for Races 1 and 2:
“The double pole is obviously good. Much more important this weekend, however, is the fact that my championship rivals are behind me. I’ll be starting on the clean side of the track, but on the outside. I would’ve preferred the inside. I was a bit surprised that the second group weren’t able to match our times, as this is usually the faster of the two in qualifying. In the races, my team-mate Janneau and I need to figure something out. If there is a race win in this for me, I’ll gladly accept it. But this weekend is all about scoring points. As long as I finish ahead of my two main opponents this weekend, the actual positions are not so important.”