For Mathilda Paatz, the season finale of the French Formula 4 Championship in Le Castellet marks the end of a successful debut year in formula racing. Although the ADAC Formula 4 Junior Team driver was unable to take home anything worthwhile at the end of the season, the 16-year-old young talent can look back on an instructive and therefore positive debut season. Especially in the second half of the season, the young driver from Cologne was able to improve significantly, set some highlights and achieve promising results. Despite a double retirement at the finale through no fault of her own, the Motorsport Team Germany driver can therefore summarise the season with satisfaction.
At the finale in Le Castellet, Paatz was unable to build on the steep learning curve and successes of recent races. She made two mistakes in qualifying, which prevented her from securing a good grid position and thus a promising position for the races. In the end, the 16-year-old finished 23rd overall. This considerably dampened her hopes of scoring her first points of the year. Nevertheless, the ADAC Sports Foundation protégée remained optimistic and was able to make up a few positions after the start of the first race when she was hit in the rear by a competitor after just a few corners and spun round. To make matters worse, the same competitor also hit her in the front, forcing Paatz to park her damaged car.
Things didn't go any better in the second race either: after the German Sports Drivers' Association protégée had once again fought her way up several places, a cocky opponent missed the braking point again in the chicane on the back straight. Paatz was shot down on the first lap and had to end the race prematurely. ‘I'm not only disappointed, but also pretty angry,’ said Paatz, finding clear words for the behaviour of the competition. ‘With their pointless manoeuvres this weekend, they robbed me of any chance of a satisfactory result at the end of the season. You don't win races on the first lap.’
Strong debut season in Formula 4
In the third and final race on Sunday, which turned into a chaotic rollercoaster ride for the riders due to heavy rainfall, Paatz finished 25th. ‘The last race weekend of the year couldn't have gone any worse,’ admits the rider from Cologne. ‘Nevertheless, I can look back on a positive debut season. I've learnt a lot and continuously improved, which unfortunately I wasn't able to prove in the final. The icing on the cake was missing. But the positive moments, such as ninth place in qualifying in Magny-Cours and tenth place in the second race in Dijon, show that I am competitive!’
Mathilda Paatz has another sporting highlight on the agenda this year with the World Shifter Kart Championship in Portimao (10 to 13 October) in the south of Portugal. How the 16-year-old will continue in the 2025 season remains to be seen. ‘Of course I want to drive in the F1 Academy next year and show off my skills there, but nothing has been decided yet,’ reveals Paatz. The various options will be discussed with sponsors and funding partners over the winter in order to find the best solution for her future career path.
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