No time to pause as ADAC Formula 4 steps on the gas at the Lausitzring

• Championship leader Zendeli: "The competition never sleeps"
• Rookie Niklas Krütten: "I feel I'm ready"
• ADAC Formula 4 racing as support to the DTM once more

Munich: The young motor racing talents have no time to pause in the ADAC Formula 4, as racing continues this weekend at the Lausitzring (18th - 20th May) just two weeks after the second meeting in Hockenheim. The races will once again form part of the DTM support programme, and Races 7, 8 and 9 out of a total of 20 should prove very thrilling. SPORT1 will broadcast the ADAC Formula 4 races on TV and they will also be freely available online as livestream at SPORT1.de, adac.de/Motorsport and youtube.com/adac.

Lirim Zendeli (18, Germany, US Racing CHRS) travels to the Lausitzring as championship leader, and of course, the young 18-year-old German driver will be aiming to repeat his strong performance from the previous race weekend at the Hockenheimring and further extend his lead. He took two wins and a third place at Hockenheim and was delighted with his "perfect weekend", as he himself called it - but Zendeli also knows that the championship is far from decided.

"The competition never sleeps. I must stay focused," says the 18-year-old, who is 50 points ahead of his nearest championship rival, Frederik Vesti (16, Denmark, Van Amersfoort Racing) and 54 up on Enzo Fittipaldi (16, Brazil, Prema Theodore Racing). Nevertheless, Zendeli is well aware: "My goal has to remain the title. I've just got to win it in my third year."

However, the championship title will not be won without a fight. His rivals, Vesti, Fittipaldi and Co hope to seize their chances at the challenging Lausitzring circuit, especially as Zendeli had some problems there last year and was only able to finish seventh and ninth and retired once. Danish driver Frederik Vesti had a much better showing, scoring points in all three races and finishing second in the third and final race.

For the junior drivers in the ADAC high-speed school, this will be their second appearance in succession as support to the DTM, and huge numbers of spectators are expected as was the case for the season opener alongside the ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben in April and most recently at Hockenheim - it's what the ADAC Formula 4 drivers find so exciting. "Seeing all the fans is really cool," says Niklas Krütten (15, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg eV), who narrowly leads the Rookie classification from David Schumacher (16, Germany, US Racing CHRS).

And if the young 15-year-old gets his way, then that should remain the case until the end of the season. "I'd like to continue where I left off at Hockenheim," says Krütten, who finished second in the third race there and was only beaten by Mick Wishofer (18, Austria, US Racing CHRS): "We've already tested a couple of times at the Lausitzring. It went pretty well, so I feel I'm ready."

TV schedule for the ADAC Formula 4 at the Lausitzring

SPORT1+ Sat, 19/05/18 10.05 am Race 1 LIVE
SPORT1+ Sat, 19/05/18 5.00 pm Race 2 LIVE
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 4.00 am Race 1 Repeat
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 4.40 am Race 2 Repeat
SPORT1 Sun, 20/05/18 9.00 am Race 3 LIVE
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 11.05 am Race 3 First showing
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 2.35 pm Race 1 Repeat
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 3.15 pm Race 2 Repeat
SPORT1+ Sun, 20/05/18 3.55 pm Race 3 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 12.20 am Race 1 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 1.00 am Race 2 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 1.40 am Race 3 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 8.25 am Race 1 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 9.05 am Race 2 Repeat
SPORT1+ Wed, 23/05/18 9.45 am Race 3 Repeat
SPORT1+ Fri, 25/05/18 5.50 pm Race 1 Repeat
SPORT1+ Fri, 25/05/18 6.30 pm Race 2 Repeat
SPORT1+ Fri, 25/05/18 7.10 pm Race 3 Repeat