Janneau Esmeijer starts second half of season with double pole

• HTP Juniorteam duo Janneau Esmeijer and Marvin Dienst share front row in Races 1 and 2
• Best ADAC Formula 4 qualifying result yet for Mick Schumacher
• Esmeijer: “I’ll be giving 110 percent to convert the pole into victory.”

Nürburgring: Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Juniorteam) has roared back at full throttle from the ADAC Formula 4 summer break, claiming a double pole in qualifying at the Nürburgring. Esmeijer set the fastest time and will start from P1 in the first race on Saturday (live coverage on SPORT1 commences at 11:55 CEST). His HTP Juniorteam team-mate Marvin Dienst (18, GER, HTP Juniorteam) starts alongside him on the front row. And it’s the same configuration for the afternoon race on Saturday (live coverage on SPORT1 commences at 16:30 CEST) when Esmeijer and Dienst once again make it a front row lockout for the HTP Juniorteam. Rookies David Beckmann (15, GER, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Lando Norris (15, GBR, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) start both races from third and fourth place respectively.

Starting grid for Race 1

Due to the high number of contestants, qualifying was held in two groups. The starting grid for the first race is determined by the fastest lap times in qualifying. The driver with the fastest time outright starts from pole position. The fastest driver from the other group is allocated the second place on the grid. The remaining cars then line up behind the two fastest drivers according to their respective qualifying group.

In Group 2, Esmeijer was invincible in the closing stages of the 20-minute session. The Dutch youngster took over from Beckmann at the top of the timesheet two minutes from the end. Esmeijer then went on to ram home his claim to pole position with several absolute fastest sector times. With a personal best of 1:27.587 minutes, he qualified 0.251 seconds ahead of runner-up Beckmann. The series newcomer thus starts from third place, having recorded his best ever result in ADAC Formula 4. Completing the Top Five in Group 2 were Ralf Aron (17, EST, Prema Powerteam) who takes grid position 5, current championship leader Joel Eriksson (17, SWE, Motopark) in P7 and Mick Schumacher (16, GER, Van Amersfoort Racing) in P9.
Qualifying Group 1 saw an exciting three-way battle for pole. Dienst, who currently occupies third spot in the standings, took the lead halfway through the session. His best lap time of 1:27.900 minutes was ultimately enough to see off the challenge from the pursuing duo of Norris and Robert Shwartzman (15, RUS, kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport). The Top Three were separated by a mere 0.087 of a second when the session ended. In line with the rules, Dienst, Norris and Shwartzman take the even-numbered grid places two, four and six.

Starting grid for Race 2

The starting grid for the second race is determined by the second-best lap times posted in the session. Esmeijer (1:27.649) fought an arm’s length duel against his team-mate Dienst (1:27.918). Row 2 was booked by the two kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport rookies Beckmann (1:27.980) and Norris (1:27.979). Lining up in seventh position behind Aron (1:28.078) and Shwartzman (1:28.015) is Schumacher (1:28.260), who has thus achieved his best ADAC Formula 4 qualifying result to date. The two main championship contenders, Eriksson on 1:28.282 minutes and Joey Mawson (19, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing) on 1:28.363 minutes, start from positions nine and eleven in the second race at the Nürburgring.

Starting grid for Race 3

The Top Ten from the first race start the third race (live on SPORT1 at 15:30) 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.


Janneau Esmeijer (18, NED, HTP Juniorteam), Pole for Races 1 and 2:
“This double pole is fantastic. I like the Nürburgring a lot, and my team have worked really hard. At the start of qualifying, we drove quite tactically and tried a few things out. That paid off in the end. In the season opener at Oschersleben, I started from the front but had some bad luck in the races themselves. On the following weekend, things didn’t go at all well, and both the team and I needed to improve. So to have come back now with this result is incredible, and it goes to show the progress we have made. I’ll be giving 110 percent to convert these poles into victories. Starting just in front of my team-mate Marvin should make for some exciting race action.”