ADAC German Formula 4 – ABERDEIN KEEPS ON PROGRESSING

Fighting weekend produces Jonathan’s best results yet at Oschersleben. Cape Town driver Jonathan Aberdein took a significant step forward as he closed off the first half of his rookie ADAC German Formula 4 championship. Oschersleben’s fourth round not only heralded his quickest pace since heading overseas, but it also culminated in a most encouraging fourth place — Jonathan’s best result to date.

Oschersleben is the first circuit Aberdein has raced on for the second time this season, so the Fresnaye double karting champion was a little more at home to start with and qualifying went well too. “I was third quickest in my group, which meant I started on the third row of the grid,” Jonathan explained. “That’s far better form than we have been used to, so we were quite excited for the weekend.”

“The first race went well — I dropped a couple of positions while fighting it out in a pretty frantic heat, but I brought it home in eighth and I was really happy with a solid top ten finish. “The second race was my toughest — Oschersleben is not an easy track to pass on — I started 14th and either found myself trying to pass or defending position to eventually also finish 14th, but I qualified third for the final.”

That proved a dramatic race as Jonathan found himself dicing for fourth with the charging Mick Schumacher before a series of incidents saw the safety despatched to finally cause the red flag to fly after a safety car blunder caused chaos further back in the pack. Aberdein escaped the commotion to restart in fifth, from where he fought off the attentions of his pursuers to bring it home fourth — his best result since heading to Europe.

“That was a solid fourth place and it’s my best result so far!” Jonathan beamed after the chaotic final heat. “We were on the pace throughout and I got quicker as the race went on, so I am delighted with the weekend. Now all I have I have to do is put it on podium something I’m pretty confident is not too far away…”

Jonathan heads back to new territory for the next round of the championship at Austria’s Red Bull Ring 22-24 July.