In late July, one and a half years after the folding of ADAC Formula 4 and the launch of the ADAC Formel Junior Team to send German drivers to France, French F4 went to Germany for the first time since 2010. Could the partnership between the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile and Germany’s Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club strengthen in the upcoming years?

By Perceval Wolff

“There is no interest, no money, for motorsport in Germany. It’s difficult. It’s a different mindset compared to England, Italy or even here in France.”

These were the words of a former ADAC representative during French F4 pre-season testing last year at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans. After a golden age that saw Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg win twelve F1 World Drivers’ Championship titles from 2000 to 2016, Germany has been seeking its next wunderkind, without much success.

The collapse of the country’s national F4 series, ADAC F4, at the end of 2022 has shown the difficulties in uncovering local talents.

This contributed to the launch of the ADAC Formel Junior Team at the start of 2023. The programme sends drivers west of the Rhine to French F4, in which all cars are prepared by the FFSA Academy. This means, in theory, equal opportunities for every driver, with a lower budget than those of Italian, British and even the former ADAC F4.

German junior single-seater racing was once healthier and more affordable. Schumacher made his way through Formula Ford, Formula König, Formula Three and finally the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in Germany before his F1 debut in 1991. Vettel and Rosberg cut their teeth in Formula BMW and the Germany-based F3 Euro Series in the early and mid-2000s.

What happened?

“Costs increased over the past 25-plus years, and on the other side, the financial support from the industry decreased,” ADAC Motorsport director Thomas Voss tells Feeder Series.

“Schumacher was supported by Mercedes, Vettel by BMW on their route to F1. In recent years there has been a lack of financial support. Due to sustainability and economic reasons, motorsport is not in the manufacturers’ focus, as it was in former years.

“The system with Formula 4 or former ADAC formula series works,” Voss continues, referencing ADAC F4’s predecessor, the ADAC Formel Masters series. “Drivers like Lando Norris, Mick Schumacher or Ollie Bearman raced in our series in recent years. Unfortunately, there is no other formula racing series than F4. In recent years we had Formula Renault, Formula König, Formula Ford and more variety and way for talented drivers to start their racing career and find their way into F1.”

To remedy the problem, ADAC turned to the country’s national car manufacturers, who are decades-old competitors on and off the track.

“Our ADAC Stiftung Sport [ADAC sports foundation] sets up a new program together with Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche to address this and supports young talents in single seater racing,” Voss says.

The Motorsport Team Germany programme enabled Mathilda Paatz and Montego Maassen to enter their first full seasons of single-seaters this year in French F4. Maassen is 17th with four points, having finished eighth on debut; Paatz, a second-year member of the team but likewise a French F4 newcomer, is 24th with a best finish of 16th.

The same programme, founded in 1999, helped world champions such as Vettel and Porsche Formula E driver Pascal Wehrlein enter single-seaters. What support do all of these drivers receive from the ADAC?

“There is a selection process in the off-season for which interested drivers can apply,” Voss explains. “Drivers are then selected from the applications and receive special conditions for participating in the FFSA F4. [Mathilda] Paatz and Montego Maassen are also part of the ADAC Sports Foundation and receive extensive support in many different ways – financial help, coaching in media, driving skills and fitness and also a proof of career concept, but no classic management.”

It was even thanks to this programme that F3 podium finisher Tim Tramnitz, a Red Bull junior, participated in Formula E’s Berlin rookie test in May with Abt Cupra, a historical ally of Audi’s.

After the folding of ADAC F4 at the end of 2022, the German automobile federation started a new collaboration with the FFSA Academy and the French F4 Championship it runs. Why was this decision made, and is it the best solution?

“The French system is very appealing [because of] its concept of a central preparation of the cars. This provides equals cars and equal chances for the drivers,” Voss says.

“In Formula 4 racing there are cost-capped cars and cost-capped prices for the spares, but due to a ridiculous amount of private testing, it becomes very expensive at the end.

“The best drivers shall be on the front and not the drivers with the highest budget for testing. The French system addresses this in a very effective way and is therefore very interesting for us.

“The training in the FFSA F4 is very good, the series is an ideal introduction to formula racing. Tom Kalender, who was part of the ADAC team in the FFSA F4 last year, proves that the quality is right. He competes in the ADAC GT Masters now and is the youngest ever race-winner and championship leader there.”

This collaboration between the FFSA and the ADAC goes beyond single-seaters.

“The cooperation with the FFSA is very good. They are very supportive. In rallying, for example, we work together with the FFSA in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, where there are dedicated FFSA teams. It is now our part and goal to find more German drivers from karting to fill more seats in the FFSA F4 cars.”

Since the end of ADAC F4, no other F4 series had been to Germany despite the recent launches of F4 CEZ and the Euro 4 series, introduced last year as an ostensible supplement for the track time lost by drivers planning dual Italian and ADAC F4 campaigns.

By coming to the Nürburgring, less than two hours’ drive from the French border, for the fourth round of its season two weeks ago, French F4 brought entry-level junior single-seaters back to Germany for the first time in nearly two years. Could we see more rounds in Germany in the future?

“We are happy to have FFSA F4 in Germany for the first time. Under the Formula 4 concept, however, only two races are permitted abroad, which limits the number of possible races outside of France,” Voss says. French F4’s other international round since 2022 has been at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

“Having in mind the great cooperation we had with the FFSA in the Formula 3 Euro Series over many years with the output of many Formula 1 and DTM drivers, it is worth sticking to this cooperation to renew this amazing success we had at these times.”

Asked about a potential return of ADAC F4 or a strengthened collaboration with the FFSA, Voss said, “We are not ruling out a return of ADAC F4 in the future. Germany should have a junior formula racing series. Until then, we will continue to intensify our cooperation with FFSA F4.”

Ahead of the Nürburgring weekend, Feeder Series also collected the FFSA’s point of view about this collaboration. Sporting director Chloé Blossier wrote, “For the moment, the project is likely to stay with German drivers that come to France to start their racing career. We will discuss what is coming next during our stay at the Nürburgring.”

Header photo credit: KSP Reportages / Gruppe C Photography