The challenges of the Lausitzring: Second round of ADAC Formula 4

• Motorsport Festival with ADAC GT Masters and DTM
• Juri Vips heads standings in run-up to the Lausitzring: "The track suits me"
• Nicklas Nielsen: "We're gonna be up-front again here"

Munich: The second round is fast approaching. After an exciting ADAC Formula 4 season opener last April that produced three different winners in the three races and saw seven drivers from seven countries climb onto the winner's podium at Oschersleben, the ADAC high-speed school will contest races four, five and six at the Lausitzring Festival (19th to 21st May). All the drivers are really keen to race against the backdrop of this motor racing extravaganza in conjunction with the ADAC GT Masters and the DTM. "It gives us all an extra boost," says Nicklas Nielsen (20, Denmark, US Racing). "We obviously want to excel and drive particularly well in front of this large crowd of spectators." SPORT1 and SPORT1+ will broadcast the three races live. They can also be watched online as livestreams at: sport1.de and adac.de/motorsport.

Juri Vips (16, Estonia, Prema Powerteam) on 47 points leads the standings as he heads to the Lausitzring. The Estonian won the first race at the season opener and collected further points in the other two races with a P4 and P5 finish. He is closely followed by Nielsen with 45 points, Jonathan Aberdein (19, South Africa, Motopark) with 34 and Lirim Zendeli (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) with 33 points.

"Oschersleben was a brilliant start to the season for me. It's fantastic to be heading into the second race weekend of the season as the leader in the overall standings, but I've also noticed that the standard in the field of drivers is really strong this year," says Juri Vips, who achieved his best result, P7, at the Lausitzring during his rookie season in 2016: "Things didn't go too well for me here last year, even though the pace was always there. Otherwise, the track suits me and Prema Powerteam. At any rate, I will try to extend my lead on Nicklas Nielsen in the overall standings."

Danish driver Nielsen, who is with the Kerpen-based US Racing outfit led by Ralf Schumacher and Gerhard Ungar this year, intends to attack at the weekend. "The Lausitzring is the circuit on the calendar that puts the most physical demands on drivers. Passages that are taken at maximum speed and slow corners alternate constantly. I think we're going to be back out in front again here," says the 2016 rookie champion. "There are still plenty of points up for grabs, but I'm up for the challenge."

Of the two race winners from last year, Mick Schumacher (18, Germany, Prema Powerteam) and Fabio Scherer (17, Switzerland, US Racing), only the Swiss driver will be racing there this year. Fabio Scherer: "I feel very confident when I think about the races that lie ahead of us. If I can repeat the speed from Oschersleben and keep my learning curve on an upward trend, then we should be in a strong position to score points again in the next lot of races."

Lirim Zendeli also has big ambitions as he travels to the circuit. "We're always very quick at the Lausitzring. The track has fast white-knuckle turns and long straights, but I can't say I really like the ripples in the track surface," says the 17-year-old: "If I can make a better job of qualifying than I did in Oschersleben, then anything is possible at the Lausitzring."

Ex-kart driver Doureid Ghattas (15, Germany, Team PiroSport Interdental), who turned 15 on the 15th May, will have his maiden outing in the ADAC Formula 4. The youngest driver in the ADAC's high-speed school is going to really enjoy making his debut at the Motorsport Festival alongside the ADAC GT Masters and the DTM.