Joey Mawson took pole position at Zandvoort with Group B winner Mike Ortmann joining him on the front row. The result helps Mawson in his quest for the 2016 ADAC Formula 4 title as many of his rivals struggled. It was also a home pole for his team van Amersfoort Racing.
Group A
To the surprise of many, championship contenders, Joey Mawson and German Mick Schumacher struggled for pace in practice, with the Australian managing ninth and fifth in the two sessions. Fortunately for Mawson he started qualifying on a high, jumping to the top in the early stages.
It didn’t last long though. As the benchmark dropped, it was rookie Lirim Zendeli who found his way to the top. The German had been quickest in second practice and was showing no sign of letting up as the grid was being formed.
As the session entered its final five minutes, Mawson shot to the top. Schumacher, had been off the pace for the majority of qualifying, but managed to scrape into second with Juri Vips just behind.
It was all change in the final few minutes as Zendeli and few others leaped up the timing boards. It proved to be just good enough as a red flag was called two minutes and twenty seconds before the end. This left Mawson on top of the group from Zendeli, Schumacher and Vips behind.
Group B
As the second group got underway, it was Ortmann, the man who’d topped practice 1, who was initially on top. Using his home advantage, Janneau Esmeijer soon joined him by going second.
With Kami Laliberte settling into third, the group eased off towards the middle of the session with the drivers warming up for a late run. Sadly, this never came and Ortmann finished the session on top.
Juan Manuel Correa proved the speed of the Prema Powerteam car by qualifying fourth in the group just behind Esmeijer and Laliberte. The American had been quick throughout practice and would have preferred a more promising grid position.
There were a few surprises in the opening group with Kim-Luis Schramm and Jannes Fittje managing seventh and eleventh in group, severely hindering their race. Group B was no different, with Nicklas Neilsen and Devlin DeFrancesco outside the top eighteen for race one.
