with lights-to-flag victory at the Nürburgring Race 1

Race terminated after seven laps
Mick Wishofer leads Rookie class
Top Three: 1. Felipe Drugovich, 2. Lirim Zendeli, 3. Juri Vips

Felipe Drugovich (17, Brazil, Van Amersfoort Racing) secured a lights-to-flag victory in the 14th race of the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 at the Nürburgring. It was his fourth win of the season. The pole-sitter crossed the line ahead of yesterday's winner, Lirim Zendeli (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.), and current championship leader Juri Vips (16, Estonia, Prema Powerteam). P3 was enough for Vips to successfully defend his position at the top of the table against Drugovich. The race was stopped after seven laps when Cédric Piro (19, Germany, Team Piro Interdental) crashed.

"It's a pity we couldn't finish the race, because it was actually a great race," said Drugovich. "I got off to a good start, and I am ultimately very happy with the result."

In a repeat performance of Saturday, Andreas Estner (17, Germany, Neuhauser Racing) was again fourth behind the three finishers on the podium, followed by Julian Hanses (19, Germany, US Racing) and Kim-Luis Schramm (20, Germany, US Racing). Enzo Fittipaldi (16, Brazil, Prema Powerteam), grandson of two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, came seventh in his second race in the ADAC High-Speed Academy, just like the day before. Marcus Armstrong (17, New Zealand, Prema Powerteam), Jonathan Aberdein (19, South Africa, Motopark) and Frederik Vesti (15, Denmark, Van Amersfoort Racing) took the remaining points-scoring positions. Mick Wishofer (17, Austria, Lechner Racing) scored 25 points in the Rookie stakes as he had done in the first race on Saturday.

Yesterday's winner, Lirim Zendeli, got a good start from second on the grid, but pole-sitter Drugovich was able to fend off his attack in the first turn. An exciting three-way scrap then developed at the start of the sixth lap. When Estner tried an overtaking move on Zendeli which failed, Vips saw his chance and popped out from Estner's slipstream to take third place.

The safety car then had to come out on the next lap. Cédric Piro (19, Germany, Team Piro Interdental) spun off into the tyre stack in the first turn. He was unhurt in the incident but will have to miss out on the third and final round of the weekend. The race was stopped under the red flag following the crash and was not restarted, as the crash barriers had to be repaired. Half points were awarded in view of the stoppage after only seven laps.

Vips on 169 points still heads the overall standings in the run-up to the Sunday afternoon race (starts at 16:34 CEST). Drugovich is behind him in second place on 155.5 points. Eighth place for Armstrong means that he has now lost some ground (146) on the leaders.

Armstrong will start the third and final race of the weekend from pole position after finishing tenth in Race 1. SPORT1 is showing all the races. Live streams are also available at www.adac.de/motorsport, www.youtube.com/adac and www.SPORT1.de.


More comments on the ADAC Formula 4 race

Felipe Drugovich (winner, Van Amersfoort Racing): "It was a good race and I was perfectly set up to win it. My start was good, and I was really fast. Too bad that we were unable to finish. But I'm obviously satisfied with the result. The race yesterday was of course very frustrating for me, so it was all the more important to deliver a good performance today and win. There are still 175 points left in the championship. I'm obviously hoping to close the points gap on Juri Vips."

Lirim Zendeli (second, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.): "My start was good, but I lost ground on Felipe on the first lap. But after that, I managed to match him for pace and close the gap. I then saw Drugovich driving through the dirt. But I didn't really play it smart. At the time, I thought I could catch up a bit more, because Felipe also slowed down slightly. Then came the safety car, followed shortly afterwards by the red flag. Unfortunately, for the second time this weekend - it was simply not good. But apart from that, it's been a very comfortable weekend for me: fastest on the day in Friday's free practice, pole position for Race 1, a win in the first race and now a P2 finish. In Race 3, I'll be starting from tenth place. I've learnt how to overtake in the last few races, as we've consistently been starting from near the back. Let's see if there's another podium in it for me."

Juri Vips (third, Prema Powerteam): "In qualifying, we didn't have the opportunity to get a really good grid position for the races. Yesterday we just about managed to get the maximum possible. I had hoped that today's race would continue after the safety car, allowing me to make further progress through the field. But I'll just have to content myself with what I got today. In Race 3, I'll be starting from sixth place, and I feel sure that I have the potential for another good result. Too bad we didn't have more driving time, but that's the situation we find ourselves in, and we can't change it."