Just two weeks after her confident podium finish at the Red Bull Ring, Mathilda Paatz once again demonstrates her potential at the third round of the Central European Formula 4 Championship (F4 CEZ) at the Salzburgring. The 16-year-old from Cologne delivers an impressive performance at the event near Salzburg, securing two top-five results and improving her position in the overall standings from ninth to sixth. In the second race on Sunday, Paatz narrowly misses out on her second podium finish of the season by a fraction of a second.
At the Salzburgring in Austria, a track known for its high-speed corners and long straights, Paatz had never raced before. Nevertheless, the young driver, competing for her own team mathilda racing, quickly gets to grips with the circuit and secures sixth place on the grid, a solid starting position for the races. "Unfortunately, I hit traffic at the end of my fastest lap. Until then, my lap time would have been good enough for third place," she explains in hindsight.
Technical problems on Saturday
However, her grid position becomes a secondary concern when a clutch issue emerges during the pre-start phase of the first race on Saturday. As a result, Paatz is forced to start from the pit lane but stages an impressive recovery drive. She steadily moves up the field until a safety car is deployed with around ten minutes remaining, allowing her to close the gap to the top ten. After the restart, she overtakes three more competitors in the final two laps, crossing the finish line in ninth place. Thanks to a penalty imposed on a rival, she is later classified eighth - an impressive result given the circumstances.
The starting grid for the second and third races is determined by the finishing order of race one, meaning Paatz has to line up eighth for both of Sunday’s races. In the second race on Sunday morning, she gets off to a flying start and quickly moves up to sixth place. In a tense battle, she displays great composure and tactical awareness, avoiding unnecessary risks and capitalizing on her rivals' mistakes. She finishes a strong fifth, just 0.367 seconds shy of a podium finish - missing out on her second trophy of the season by the narrowest of margins.
Strong results on Sunday
Paatz also puts in a determined performance in the third and final race, mixing it up once again in the tightly contested F4 CEZ field, which features numerous position changes involving her male competitors. Shortly before the end, after having fought her way up to fifth place, the race is red-flagged due to an accident. This means that Paatz finishes all three races as the best-placed female driver and scores valuable championship points, moving up from ninth to sixth in the overall standings.
"I’m really satisfied because I was able to back up my performance at the Red Bull Ring," Paatz concludes. "The technical problem before the first race was obviously frustrating, as it affected the whole weekend. With a perfect qualifying session, a podium finish would have been possible in all three races. Still, I managed to deliver a strong performance and prove that I belong in the top five of the championship!"
The F4 CEZ will now take an extended break. The fourth round of the season is scheduled for July 25–27 at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. In the meantime, Paatz will be back behind the wheel soon—details to follow shortly.
