PREMA Racing enjoys more winning in German F4 Championship

PREMA Racing delivered a triple podium lockout at Zandvoort as the team dominated the third round of the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 Championship. With the cars showing outstanding pace right away, 15-year-old Kimi Antonelli started with the right foot by claiming pole in both qualifying sessions. The Italian went on to win both races 1 and 2, controlling the safety car situations to perfection and leading from beginning to end. 

Race 3 saw 16-year-old Conrad Laursen make a brilliant start from P2, and lead every lap to claim his maiden Formula 4 win. The Dane had to fend off the attacks of Antonelli, who stormed back from P8 on the reverse grid, and  eventually succeeded, beating his teammate for the win by only 5 hundreds of a second. Laursen also scored a P3 in race 1 to solidify his recent improvements.

Ferrari Driver Academy’s Rafael Camara posted two second places in qualifying and held the same position throughout the opening two races, gaining valuable points. The 16-year-old Brazilian eventually rounded out the top-5 in race 3. Austrian Charlie Wurz got away from the Netherlands with two podiums as well. A front wing issue coming from contact in a rain-hit qualifying 1 compromised his position for race 1, and although he stalled at the start, he delivered an amazing comeback to P7. On Sunday, he then posted a double P3. FDA-supported Aussie James Wharton brought home three points finishes with a solid run at one of the most challenging venues for rookies.

At the end of the first three rounds of the championship, PREMA Racing has scored all poles, all wins, all fastest laps and all rookie wins. 

#7 CHARLIE WURZ

“We had a good weekend, where our pace was quite strong. Two podiums and a comeback from last place to P7 was positive. Unfortunately, losing the front wing in Q1 and stalling in race 1 made our Saturday a bit tricky, but we fought back to a double podium with some nice overtakes on Sunday.”

Qualifying 1: P10

Qualifying 2: P3

Starting Grid Race 1: P10

Starting Grid Race 2: P3

Starting Grid Race 3: P6

Fastest lap: 1:39.991

Fastest lap: 1:35.761

Race 1: P7

Race 2: P3

Race 3: P3

#12 ANDREA KIMI ANTONELLI

“It has been a good weekend with a great pace all the time. I tried to learn the track and improve since practice, and with difficult conditions in qualifying, I managed to score two poles. In race 1 I made a good start, opened up a gap, and went on to win the race. In race 2, it was the same with a good start, but the safety car eliminated the gap I had built. However, the re-start was good, managed to build a good advantage to win that one as well. Starting from P8 in race 3, I had a tough getaway, but I fought back to P2. It was an intense but fun race. Now I’m fully motivated for the next!”

Qualifying 1: P1

Qualifying 2: P1

Starting Grid Race 1: P1

Starting Grid Race 2: P1

Starting Grid Race 3: P8

Fastest lap: 1:36.456

Fastest lap: 1:35.761

Race 1: P1

Race 2: P1

Race 3: P2

#13 JAMES WHARTON

“Round 3 of ADAC Formula 4 is done. It has been a solid weekend, but not the results I wanted. There still are some positives to take away, but also still a long way to go.”

Qualifying 1: P3

Qualifying 2: P4

Starting Grid Race 1: P3

Starting Grid Race 2: P4

Starting Grid Race 3: P5

Fastest lap: 1:37.176

Fastest lap: 1:36.246

Race 1: P5

Race 2: P4

Race 3: P6

#20 CONRAD LAURSEN

“I’m super happy with the win in race 3, and I want to thank the team for the amazing job all the weekend. Again we had a better qualifying compared to the start of the season, with P4 in Q1. In Q2 I struggled a little more to find the right line as I didn’t feel really comfortable, and ended up with P7. All in all, the qualifying pace improved, and although there is still some work to be done, It’s getting better and better as I get comfortable with the new car. In race 1, I think P3 was a good result compared to our pace. Race 2 was not the best, it was just a matter of keeping it on track as I was struggling to find the speed. Finally, the victory in race 3 was super good as everything worked very well from start to finish. On top of that, defending from Kimi in the end made it even more interesting!”

Qualifying 1: P4

Qualifying 2: P7

Starting Grid Race 1: P4

Starting Grid Race 2: P7

Starting Grid Race 3: P2

Fastest lap: 1:37.498

Fastest lap: 1:36.691

Race 1: P3

Race 2: P7

Race 3: P1

#88 RAFAEL CAMARA

“It has been quite difficult weekend as we missed a little bit the speed, but I was there at the front anyways. Now we need to keep working and focus on the next round of the Italian Championship at Vallelunga.”

Qualifying 1: P2

Qualifying 2: P2

Starting Grid Race 1: P2

Starting Grid Race 2: P2

Starting Grid Race 3: P7

Fastest lap: 1:36.992

Fastest lap: 1:36.246

Race 1: P2

Race 2: P2

Race 3: P5

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing