Great success for Mathilda Paatz: At the second race weekend of the Central European Formula 4 Championship (F4 CEZ) at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the 16-year-old from Cologne finishes in a sensational second place. It is not only her first overall podium in Formula 4, but also a milestone for the series: Paatz becomes the first woman ever to finish on the overall podium in the history of the F4 CEZ. She finished in the top ten in all three races and was the best female driver on the grid in each.
Paatz, who is driving for her own team “mathilda racing” this season, made a clear statement on Friday. With fast and consistent lap times, she places among the top five in the free practice sessions. The start to the weekend is promising, but qualifying does not go according to plan. On her fastest lap of all laps, she is stopped by a red light interruption, meaning that in the end she only manages tenth place on the grid for the first race on Saturday.
Paatz with a rocket start in the second race
Paatz proves her fighting spirit there. With a clear focus, she slowly worked her way forward before a serious accident involving a competitor brought the race to a premature end shortly before the end. The Formula 4 driver was in eighth place at the time of the stoppage, but slipped up to sixth place due to subsequent time penalties against the competition. This turned out to be a stroke of luck, as sixth place would lead to pole position for the third race this weekend due to the reverse grid rule.
Paatz first showed her potential in the second race: with a rocket start, the Cologne native moved up to fourth position before the race was interrupted due to an accident at the start. After the restart, the 16-year-old drove cleverly, taking advantage of the duel between the two opponents in front of her to even slip through into second position overall. The schoolgirl then became entangled in duels and defended her position with all her might, which led to problems with her tires in the final phase. She can no longer keep up the pace and falls back. In the end, she finished in a respectable seventh place overall.
First overall podium in the third race
The highlight comes at the end: Paatz starts the third race perfectly from pole position, immediately takes the lead and controls the action with aplomb. Even a safety car phase, which wiped out the lead she had built up over the second-placed driver, did not rattle her. She defended her leading position lap after lap, remaining focused and determined. Only towards the end of the race did an experienced opponent manage to overtake her. But Paatz, despite fierce attacks from her rivals with fresher tires, does not allow second place to be taken away from her and crosses the finish line with impressive maturity.
"What a weekend! I felt really comfortable from the very first moment, was able to keep up with the pace of the front runners and had a lot of confidence in all the races. We've made huge progress compared to the last few races and I've improved in every respect,“ says Paatz, overjoyed and grinning with determination: ”It's a shame that it wasn't enough for the win - but I'll get it soon!" The next opportunity is just two weeks away. From May 30 to June 1, the third race weekend of the F4 CEZ will take place at the Salzburgring in Austria.
