From pole position, Julian Hanses hung on for his first ever ADAC Formula 4 Championship victory, at the Lausitzring. The young German held off pressure in the opening laps to remain unchallenged until the finish.
The victory though is still provisional, as his US Racing team remains under investigation for a technical infringement during qualifying.
It was a strong start from Marcus Armstrong, immediately jumping a position to second as he hounded pole man Hanses. The pair diced for a few corners until the safety car was called for Michael Waldherr‘s retirement.
At the restart, Kim-Luis Schramm attempted to take third off Felipe Drugovich, only to lose momentum and drop to the bottom of the top ten.
This allowed Hanses and Armstrong to initially break away, while the second Neuhauser Racing car of Andreas Estner collided with Mick Wishofer, pushing them to the back. Wishofer would later run into further trouble as he temporarily stopped on track.
With Armstrong falling back, Drugovich took advantage, undercutting the Kiwi during the opening corner complex on lap nine. Armstrong himself was soon under pressure from the rest of the field, with teammate Juri Vips and Fabio Scherer leading the charge.
Scherer had made it into fourth before a failed lunge on Armstrong saw Vips sail straight past him and back into the clutches of Kami Laliberte and the others behind. Completing the queue was Juan Manuel Correa and Schramm, both keeping an eye on the battle in front.
With two minutes to go, Scherer made it back past Vips, as Wishofer’s tragic day continued, being hit by Laurin Heinrich, who was subsequently given a drive through penalty. His teammate Richard Wagner went on to win the rookie race.
As the flag dropped, it was a comfortable victory from Hanses, with his maiden win in single-seaters. Drugovich followed them home as Armstrong narrowly held on for a podium place.
Despite making it past Vips, Scherer could do nothing about the Prema Powerteam driver in front, as Laliberte took sixth. Rounding out the top eight was Schramm and Correa, who had been passed during the skirmish ahead.
The top ten was eventually rounded out by Fredrik Vesti and Sophia Florsch, who hung on to the point despite dipping a wheel onto the grass a few of times throughout the race.
Because of the investigation, Hanses was not allowed to step on the podium or collect a trophy.
