Fabio is ready for F4 return at Nürburgring

Switzerland’s Fabio Scherer will resume his ADAC Formula 4 Championship campaign at the iconic Nürburgring this weekend – and the 18 year-old is keen to build on the form he showed before the series took its month-long summer break.

The US Racing driver impressively drove his way to P4, P3 and P5 finishes when the F4 field locked horns at Oschersleben last time out (7-9 July). Scoring 37 championship points lifted Fabio into P6 in the ADAC F4 drivers standings – a healthy position with three events and nine point-scoring opportunities still available before the 2017 season reaches its conclusion.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on to the track and building on the good start to the season we’ve had,” Fabio said. “The potential has been there at every race so far so I just need to keep doing what I am and that should work well for me.”

A strong showing in a recent test has given Fabio cause to be optimistic as he heads to the Nürburgring for the one and only F4 event the track will host this season.

“I did a test there about 10 days ago and it was quite good for me,” the 18-year-old explained. “I had a good feeling and I’m quite positive I can make some good results this weekend.”

Despite performing well during his Nürburgring test, Fabio admits he isn’t a huge fan of the shortened 3.62km track configuration that the F4 field will use this weekend and he expects tyre management to have a big influence on success.

“This version of the Nürburgring is not easy to drive because, in my opinion, it’s too short and it’s just corner after corner,” the Stobag, Eterna and ATS Banding-supported driver said. “The configuration means it’s also really easy to overheat the tyres.

“You have to be really careful that you drive smoothly and not too aggressively. If you destroy the tyres on one corner of your car, you normally destroy all the others as well. That can ruin your race – and your weekend.”

With four weeks away from the race track, Fabio has used his time wisely to make sure he’s in top physical shape for the crucial three events that remain on the 2017 ADAC F4 Championship calendar.

He said: “I haven’t had much time to relax. My racing is very important to me so I’ve been doing lots of training. Even when I took a holiday I was doing sport between eight o’clock and six o’clock every day. I’m feeling good to get back in the cockpit.”

Fabio’s bid for success at the Nürburgring will start on Saturday when qualifying gets underway at 08.30 (CET). Race 1 starts at 14.45 on the same day. Races 2 and 3 go at 11.10 and 16.35 respectively on Sunday.