Mathilda Paatz had her best race to date at the Nürburgring, the only home race on the French Formula 4 calendar this year: In the third race on Sunday, the ADAC Formula 4 Junior Team driver impressed with a mixture of fast lap times, a flawless performance and courageous overtaking manoeuvres, which ultimately earned her 16th place in the fiercely competitive field of young talents. The race weekend on the traditional circuit in the Eifel was also characterised by special circumstances: payroll GmbH, the main sponsor of the young driver from Cologne, invited numerous sponsors and supporters to the Eifel. Friends and family also took up the offer. They visited Paatz on Saturday, had the Formula 4 car explained to them and watched the races from the lounge above the pits.
Paatz initially suffered a setback in the important qualifying session on Friday, as her fastest lap was cancelled due to a carelessness at the flag signals. As a result, she only managed 23rd on the grid for the first race on Saturday. On this day, the sponsor of the German Sports Drivers' Association was particularly in the spotlight, as main sponsor payroll GmbH had invited around 50 guests to the Nürburgring. In addition to other sponsors, family and friends had also travelled to the Eifel to get a taste of motorsport and watch Paatz in her challenging races on the traditional circuit.
The two races on Saturday posed a particular challenge for the driver from Cologne and her male rivals: typical Eifel weather with heavy rain showers in places turned the races on the Grand Prix circuit into a slippery affair that caused numerous spins and incidents. In the first race, the ADAC Sports Foundation protégée improved to 20th place. In the second race in the afternoon, Paatz fought her way forward with a spirited drive, but a small mistake, which the competition immediately capitalised on, ultimately dropped the 15-year-old back to 22nd place.
Paatz with a brilliant performance on Sunday
In the third and final race, which was held on a dry track on Sunday, the candidate from Motorsport Team Germany showed all her skills once again: Paatz drove a clean race and fought tough duels with the competition in the midfield, which she crowned with overtaking manoeuvres worth seeing. Over the course of the 20-minute race, which was interrupted by a safety car phase, the Cologne-based driver fought her way up to 16th place - her best result of the season, as she had only finished 16th in the season opener in Nogaro. In the end, she was just three tenths of a second off 15th place and less than ten seconds off the top 10.
‘It's a big load off my mind,’ says Mathilda Paatz, delighted with her good result in her home race at the Nürburgring. ‘I was finally able to show my potential, drive in the midfield and make several successful overtaking manoeuvres. That was not only fun, but also gave me a lot of self-confidence for the future. It wasn't so easy on Saturday due to the weather conditions. At first I was a bit too cautious, then again too courageous, so that one mistake cost me a few positions. But I'm learning with every metre on the wet track and making important progress.’
Mathilda Paatz will be back in action in four weeks' time: the next three races of the French Formula 4 Championship will take place on the former Formula 1 circuit in Magny-Cours, France, from 23 to 25 August.
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