The third ADAC Formula 4 season gets underway this weekend at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. All three races in this opening fixture of the campaign to be contested at the circuit near Magdeburg on Saturday (11:55 and 15:40) and on Sunday (11:50) will be shown either live or as catch-up broadcasts on SPORT1 and SPORT1+. Alternatively, they can be watched online as live-streamed events on www.adac.de/motorsport and www.sport1.de.

The pack has been thoroughly reshuffled for this year's ADAC Formula 4. The 2016 champion Joey Mawson (21, Australia, Van Amersfoort Racing) and runner-up Mick Schumacher (18, Germany, Prema Powerteam) have graduated to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, while last year's number three Mike David Ortmann (17, Germany, ADAC Berlin- Brandenburg eV) has made the step up to the ADAC GT Masters.

It is therefore extremely difficult to identify a clear favourite for the 2017 title. During the ADAC Formula 4 test week at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in early April, Felipe Drugovich (16, Brazil, Van Amersfoort Racing) and South Africa's Jonathan Aberdein (19, Motopark) made a big impression with consistently fast lap times. Both of them were on last year's grid, and both are now determined to establish themselves as contenders for the title.

"I hope that I get off to a tidy start at Oschersleben - without retirements or any other sort of problems," says Felipe Drugovich. "I'm aiming to lay the foundations for a successful season in which we can hopefully be among the front-runners. I'm not nervous, and I feel well prepared for the challenge ahead. I have not set myself a specific championship target as such. All I plan to do is give 100 percent in every race and score as many points as possible."

Jonathan Aberdein has set his sights unambiguously high: "My objective for the 2017 season is to win the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. There are certainly quite a few drivers who will be in the mix. What ultimately matters, though, is scoring consistently good results. In the official tests, we showed that we are a force to be reckoned with. We set the fastest time in three of the six sessions, and I was among the top three in the rest. We should now be in perfect shape for the first race of the year."

But the South African and the Brazilian are not the only two juniors who fancy their chances. Lirim Zendeli (16, ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) from Bochum, Switzerland's Fabio Scherer (17, US Racing) and Canada's Kami Laliberté (17, Van Amersfoort Racing) also have high hopes of standing on the top rung of the podium.

16-year-old Zendeli knows just how competitive the field is but still sounds confident: "We too will be considered one of the favourites for the title. I have great expectations for the first race at Oschersleben. I know what I was lacking on the track last year and have worked hard to get optimally prepared for the opening weekend." For Swiss youngster Scherer, the key to success is consistency across the individual sectors: "If I do this on a regular basis, it will make me even faster. Oschersleben is a circuit I like very much. It has a lot of fast corners and is very technical. That suits me just fine."

There is also one female in this year's 25-strong line-up - 16-year-old Sophia Flörsch (ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.) from Grünwald in Bavaria. Six of the new entrants are completely new to automobile racing and will be contesting the Rookie championship.

As in previous seasons, ADAC Formula 4 will be using the services of its established partners. The car itself will have a chassis supplied by Italian manufacturer Tatuus and be powered by an Abarth turbocharged engine. It will be clad by Italian premium tyre manufacturer Pirelli - best known for their involvement in Formula 1 - and rim manufacturer MoTec. Further series partners are suspension and chassis manufacturer Eibach and internationally respected vehicle inspectors DEKRA. Auto Zeitung continues as the official media partner.

ADAC Formula 4 at Oschersleben on TV