Van Amersfoort Racing reached mid season in the ADAC Formula 4 championship with a big smile. Joey Mawson performed outstanding in almost tropical temperatures at the Eurospeedway Lausitzring. Our fast Aussie scored one victory and two second places, bringing the runner-up back into the title chase definitely. Rewarding was also the point scoring finish of Harrison Newey in the third and final race.
The hard work during the test session prior to the fourth race weekend of the ADAC High Speed Academy paid off for us in qualifying. Both Joey (p2) and Harrison (p9) settled into the top 10 for race 1. Mick claimed 10th fastest time in qualifying group A, but was not permitted to start the first race by the race director after not reacting rapidly enough to a red flag. He was among four other drivers including the championship leader.
Race 1: Joey P1, Harrison P15, Mick DNS
Starting from second position our fast Aussie directly made his intensions clear. After a rocket start Joey passed Marvin Dienst and took over the lead to never let go. Also a safety car intervention did not effect his hegemony. After 20 laps Joey Mawson (19) claimed his second victory of the season in impressive style.
Our Aussie also caught up last ground for the standings since championship leader Joel Ericsson did not start the race. Harrison Newey struggled to find his rhythm on the first race of the weekend and finished in 16th spot after his 9th place on the grid.
Race 2: Joey P2, Mick P16, Harrison DNF
Saturday afternoon Joey Mawson was on the podium again. This time to celebrate his runner-up result. It could even have been a victory. Unfortunately our fast Australian went a little too wide after the safety car in the last phase of the race, giving Eriksson just enough space to take over the lead. Nevertheless Joey showed great determination for the title bid.
Mick Schumacher (15) overcame his disappointment for missing the first race by securing 16th position. A performance which shows both determination and race craft because Mick was pushed into the grass in the opening lap and had to fight his way up from very last position! Briton Harrison Newey had to park his car in the pits after a turbo problem shortly after the start. Bad luck for him.
Race 3: Joey P2, Harrison P10, Mick DNF
Save the best for last. Joey Mawson crowned his progress in the first half of the season by finishing on the podium for the fourth time in a row. The Australian started from 10th position, was in third position after the first corner and caught the flag in second position. Giving Joey a total points score of 61 and closing to gap on leader Joel Ericsson from 38 to only four points.
It was definitely not the weekend of Mick Schumacher. His last race ended only a few 100 metres after the start when he was hit from behind by another car. A bent rear suspension forced the German rookie (16) to retire. Harrison Newey got to grips with the Lausitzring this last race. He battled his way-up into the points, gaining five postions after being tenth on the grid. Our young Briton has all the abilities to be a top ten regular in the second half of the season.
Van Amersfoort Racing starts the summer break in good spirits after the strongest performance of the season by Joey Mawson. We are confident that he will be a serious title contender in the second half of the season, where we are going to visit the famous German four: Nürburgring, Sachsenring, Oschersleben and the finale at Hockenheim.
Australian teenager Joey Mawson secured another podium finish in the 2015 German Formula 4 Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Sunday.The CAMS Foundation-backed driver finished runner-up in the final 30-minute race of the weekend to elevate himself into second place in the championship standings.
Mawson started the race from sixth place, courtesy of a fifth placing in the opening race of the weekend, before being forced wide in turn one and dropping to seventh. He then showed tremendous pace to claw his way up the order and following a spirited battle with championship leader Joel Eriksson for third, the Sydney-sider set his sights on the race leader Lando Norris.
After closing in on Norris, Mawson was poised to make a challenge for the lead before the safety car was deployed for an incident further back in the 36 car field which ended the race early.
Mawson’s podium finish came after a seventh place finish in a rain-soaked race two and fifth in the opening encounter of the weekend.
The Championship will now head to Lausitzring for round four in two weeks time.
What Joey has to say…..
“I’m really happy with second place in the final race, especially the pace that I had to get there. I dropped to seventh in the opening turn having to avoid an incident and then was able to settle into a rhythm to get back up the order,” said Mawson.
“I had to be quite smart when making the moves and had a great battle with the championship leader mid race. I knew it was important to finish ahead of him. I would have liked the win but when the safety car came out with five minutes to go, that put an end to that.
“Overall, it was another solid weekend and I’m now second in the points. There’s a bit of a gap to the championship leader but there’s also still a long way to go in the Championship.”
Australian teenager Joey Mawson has finished Round Two of the German Formula 4 Championship on a high with victory in Race Three at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The victory in a shortened encounter moves Mawson to within ten points of the Championship lead.
Starting from pole position the CAMS Foundation-backed driver held off Janneau Esmeijer as the pair raced into turn one. As Mawson held on there was a major incident behind him that led to a car rolling over and the red flag being displayed.
The race was restarted, following a reduction from the original 30 to 15 minutes, and Mawson controlled the race through to the end – which came under the control another safety car three minutes from the finish.
Mawson’s second race was a character building one after the Sydney-sider stalled on the start line when starting from pole position. Fortunately no-one ran into the back of him but he had difficulty restarting the engine and dropped to the rear of the field.
Determined to make up for the lost ground Mawson drove very well over the next eight laps and was up 15 spots to 22nd. On the exit of a corner there were three cars he was pushing to pass and the one directly in front of him was going slower than expected and Mawson had to avoid hitting him and spun, he came to a stop against the barrier, but did not hit it hard. The race was red flagged after 15 laps due to an incident that saw Mawson’s Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Mick Schumacher hit the barrier after being hit from behind. It is believed that Schumacher suffered a broken wrist in the incident and was therefore unable to start in the final race.
Mawson finished tenth in the opening race after starting seventh.
What Joey had to say…..
"To take my first win in the Championship is great, especially to make up for the disappointment of race two,” said Mawson.
“This victory is for my team-mate Mick. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.
“At the start, I sustained some tyre damage when I has a slight touch with Janneau as we went down into turn one. It was lucky for me that the race was interrupted and that we were able to change the tyre. After the restart, I was having problems getting the tyres up to temperature. I was struggling with understeer and sliding all over the place. Janneau was really fast and was closing in on me. We had some enjoyable scraps, but fortunately I was able to keep him behind me.
“It is a great way to finish the weekend and I’m now only ten points off the Championship lead, which is the main focus.”
Australian Joey Mawson rounded out his opening weekend in the German F4 Championship with a second placing behind Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Mick Schumacher.
In the race that saw the starting grid determined by the reversal of the top ten finishers in the weekend’s opening race, Schumacher started on grid two and Mawson grid five.
Schumacher won the start to lead the way in his formula racing debut while Mawson edged his way up the order. Following a safety car period Mawson was battling Tim Zimmermann for second place, allowing Schumacher to open a buffer over his rivals.
Mawson began to hunt down Schumacher towards the middle of the race. The CAMS Foundation-backed driver gained ground on his team-mate with every lap, such was the speed shown by Mawson that he took seven tenths of a second out of Schumacher’s lead on lap 15.
The 19-year-old was close enough for his first attempt at overtaking on the following lap, but Schumacher defended successfully. Mawson did not get another chance to take the lead, as the safety car was deployed when Benjamin Mazatis skidded off track and the race finished under controlled conditions.
"I'm very satisfied. A podium on my first weekend in the ADAC Formula 4 is perfect,” said Mawson.
“I got off to a really good start, and overtaking during the race was great fun. At the end of the race, I was getting closer and closer to my team-mate Mick. But the appearance of the safety car ended my chances.
“I'm very happy with second place and the one-two win for my team. The weekend could not have ended on a better note."
Earlier in the weekend Mawson qualified second and third for the opening two 30-minute races. In the first encounter he stalled on the line and dropped to 20th before charging his way to sixth place at the chequered flag. He finished fourth in race two.
