Thomas Preining won his second ADAC Formula 4 race of the year at the Nurburgring. The Austrian made a quick getaway, passing his rivals around the outside on the opening lap; From there, he didn’t look back, moving himself into fifth in the standings.
The reverse grid race saw Jannes Fittje on pole. He copied his comrades from the first two races and defended the inside into the first turn. Third place Preining knew this and went around the outside to take the lead into the first corner.
As for the championship leaders, they spent the race working their way back through the pack. At the end of lap one, Mick Schumacher continued his rivalry with Joey Mawson by edging him off at the final chicane.
Schumacher would soon dispose of Mike Ortmann, but Mawson would have less success, struggling to find a way past the Mucke Motorsport man. This allowed Schumacher to break away in fifth, catching the field in front.
Meanwhile, Fittje continued to struggle as Juri Vips took him on the inside into turn one. In doing so, Fittje blocked Richard Verschoor, who lost momentum and fell behind Schumacher as a result. Fittje still held on to the final podium, but a five car queue proved to be a real issue for the US Racing driver.
American Juan Manuel Correa had made a poor getaway, eventually pitting after he picked up damage in the midfield. Elsewhere, a crash involving Toni Wolf and Carrie Schreiner brought out the safety car.
As the final 12 minutes of the race got underway, Schumacher was determined to make up ground and was already past Fittje as the drivers went into the first corner. Not wanting to be left behind, Mawson finally made it past Ortmann, attacking Verschoor soon after.
Back at the front, Preining continued to lead, despite being unable to pull away from Vips. The Estonian continued to harry as he looked for his first victory of the season.
There was controversy as the race came to an end though. Mawson, desperate to get past Verschoor, took to the pitlane entrance in order to get the move completed. The stewards deemed this illegal, handing Mawson a drive through.
This left Preining to take his second win of the season as Schumacher worked his way back to second. Vips, the rookie winner was third with Fittje hanging on to fourth.
Mawson would have been fifth, but his penalty dropped him out of the points. This ensured that Verschoor lead from sixth place Ortmann behind.
