Picariello triumphs in a four-way battle for the win at Spielberg

Photo: ADAC Formel Masters

Championship leader Alessio Picariello was yet again there to get the maximum out of a front row start, as he picked up another win in ADAC Formel Masters in race one of the Spielberg round.

Picariello’s teammate at Mucke Maximilian Gunther started the race from pole, but was deposed from the lead on lap one as Picariello completed a successful bait-and-switch move. Schiller Motorsport’s Jason Kremer managed to take advantage of the battle and slotted into second, with Gunther falling to third.

While at Nurburgring Picariello has both times managed to create a safety gap after taking the lead, it was not to be this time as both Kremer and Gunther stayed on his tail. The trio were soon joined by Nicolas Beer, who caught up to them after overtaking Ralph Boschung for fourth place.

Picariello’s lack of relative pace compared to his opponents did not prevent him from controlling the race, as the Belgian did not allow many opportunities for Kremer to get by. The Schiller Motorsport driver found himself more focused on defending his place from Gunther and could only breathe freely when Beer made a daring move for third place in the final minutes of the race.

As such, Picariello held on to the win, ahead of Kremer, Beer and Gunther. Neuhauser’s Stefan Riener recorded his best finish in the series in fifth, with Indy Dontje coming in in sixth place.

Another Neuhauser driver Marvin Dienst completed a busy race in seventh, ahead of Kim-Luis Schramm, while Callan O’Keeffe and Benedikt Gentgen rounded out the top ten.

The race saw quite a few incidents in the midfield. An overzealous move from Boschung on Riener for P6 ended up eliminating both himself and fifth-placed Beitske Visser from the race, while Mikkel Jensen ended up beached in the gravel following a lengthy fight with Dienst.