He raced one round less than his competitors. Nevertheless, he finished just five points from first place in this year’s Danish Formula 4 Championship.
The final of the Danish Formula 4 Championship took place at FDM Jyllandsringen over the weekend, and the 17-year-old race driver had the championship within reach. Just twenty points separated him from first place before the weekend.
Sebastian has been in strong form throughout the season, and the high pace continued into the final weekend. Saturday’s qualifying was yet another proof of the potential in the young driver, as he secured Pole Position with almost a second lead over the second-fastest driver.
A challenging start to the first heat pushed Sebastian down to third place after two laps, but he quickly fought his way back to second place, holding it throughout the heat. The second-place finish meant Sebastian would start in sixth place in the next heat due to the reversed grid rule, so overtaking was on the agenda.
And overtaking he did. Not many laps after the start, Sebastian was in third place, chasing second place at full speed. Just four-tenths of a second separated him from second place when the checkered flag was waved.
Before the final heat, the gap to the championship leader had been reduced to just eight points. With 25 points for the winner and 18 points for second place, a victory would just not be enough to decide the championship – luck would also be needed.
It was, however, misfortune that ended up affecting the final result. Just a few turns into the final heat, Sebastian was hit from behind by a competitor who had overestimated the grip on the asphalt. It sent Sebastian’s race car airborne and into the sand beside the track. Fortunately, the car could continue at almost the same pace but not enough to secure the crucial points:
– The car landed in the sand, and I was actually sure that something must have broken, but it could drive away. The wheels were filled with sand, so everything shook, and the car didn’t run anywhere near optimally, so I fought like crazy to keep up, says Sebastian, who finished the race in third place.
Apart from the missing gold medal around his neck, which disappoints Sebastian, he is not upset about the result. The young race driver has already proven what he needed to:
– I have run three heats less than my competitors, and still, I am the one with the most heat wins throughout the season. And I just finish five points behind the champion. This weekend, I was the best of us in qualification and all three heats. I think that tells enough, says Sebastian with a wry smile and sends thanks to his hardworking mechanics at Team FormulaSport:
– Henrik and the whole team have done what they could to give me the best car throughout the season. I have been in good hands, and their efforts deserve much credit for how far I’ve come. It has been a good season with many good memories! A big thanks to the whole team and especially my sponsors, who make it possible for me to pursue my goals on the racetracks.
Now Sebastian can take a month-long break before the season finale in the Spanish Formula 4 Championship is raced on the Formula 1 track in Barcelona.
