Tales from the Hockenheim paddock

• Marvin Dienst clinches championship in home race
• ADAC gears up for 2016 ADAC Formula 4 season
• David Beckmann: Youngest driver in the field is Rookie champion

Dienst delivers: He had started the season as one of the hottest title contenders and was still fancied as favourite to win ahead of the Hockenheim finale: Marvin Dienst (18, DEU, HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR). The 18-year-old delivered in his home race. Starting from pole position, he drove to victory in the first race, winning the championship ahead of time. His tally from 24 races: eight wins, 14 podiums, seven pole positions. Dienst is on track to follow in the footsteps of successful predecessors. The ADAC formula racing youth development programme has long been a starting point for future motor racing stars. Formula 1 drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg and Ralf Schumacher, plus DTM stars Martin Tomczyk, Pascal Wehrlein and Timo Glock all started their careers in ADAC junior formula racing series.

Words fail Dienst: It was a while before Marvin Dienst realised that he had just won the championship. His team radio suddenly stopped working on the final lap on Saturday morning. “That’s why I didn’t know until I reached the main straight that I’d won the title. At that moment, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders,” he said.

Curtain up: Inquisitive looks, pertinent questions and knowledgeable counterparts: Around 200 guests from Certina, Abarth and Pirelli got the chance to take a look behind the scenes of the ADAC Formula 4 on Saturday night. In small groups, the young drivers spoke about the technology behind the cars and about their season in the ADAC High-Speed Academy.

Saving the best until last: The official championship celebrations on Sunday evening in the paddock concluded the ADAC Formula 4’s debut season. Champion Marvin Dienst, runner-up Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) and the third-placed driver overall, Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing), plus the Top Three in the rookie standings, David Beckmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Mike Ortmann (15, DEU, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Mick Schumacher (16, DEU, Van Amersfoort Racing) received their awards during the celebrations to loud applause from the audience. A special highlight during the festivities was the season finale film which was premiered that evening and featured the best scenes from all 24 races.

Looking ahead to 2016: The inaugural season of the ADAC Formula 4 has just ended, but plans for the coming year are already in full swing. At a media breakfast on Saturday, ADAC Sports President Hermann Tomczyk and ADAC Director Motorsport and Classic Lars Soutschka spoke about the successful introduction of the new junior formula series in Germany. Media representatives present were also given information about where the series is heading.

Young talent in the spotlight: Three Bavarians on TV: Luca Engstler (15, Wildpoldsried, Engstler Motorsport), Benjamin Mazatis (17, Bruckmühl, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Kevin Kratz (18, Haimhausen, Lechner Racing) were given star billing on Saturday night television. Public TV channel BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk) featured a report about the development of the three young talents on their flagship sports programme, ‘Blickpunkt Sport’.

Youngest champion: David Beckmann has written his name large in ADAC Formula 4 history as its first rookie champion. The youngest of the 49 drivers in the ADAC Formula 4 field drove to his maiden victory at Hockenheim and finished on the podium in all races. Consequently, Beckmann notched up three wins concurrently in the rookie rankings which are exclusively for young talents with no previous experience of motor racing.

All set for 2016: At the season finale, the ADAC announced details of how to enter for the 2016 season. Races will be held as part of the ADAC GT Masters, as in the inaugural year. 42 vehicles will be eligible to start again next season. Teams and contestants can enrol under favourable terms for the coming season, as from November 6th, 2015.

Smile please: Hordes of spectators armed with cameras flocked to the ADAC Formula Masters 4 paddock on Sunday afternoon. Pictures of the champions in front of the tents at HTP F4 Junior Team UNGAR and kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport were really popular with fans. Champion Marvin Dienst and Rookie champion David Beckmann enjoyed posing for fan selfies.