F4 CEZ: Mathilda Paatz returns to top-5, Ella Häkkinen twice in top-10 at Slovakiaring
- MIKA BÖCKER
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
At the Slovakia Ring, the female drivers on the grid had to fight hard for good results, yet some misfortunes denied potential podium for Mathilda Paatz, who nevertheless secured a fourth place to return to the top five in the championship. Ella Häkkinen also showcased good racecraft and was twice in the top ten on her second weekend in the series.
At the Slovakia Ring, the female drivers on the grid had to fight hard for good results, yet some misfortunes denied potential podium for Mathilda Paatz, who nevertheless secured a fourth place to return to the top five in the championship. Ella Häkkinen also showcased good racecraft and was twice in the top ten on her second weekend in the series.
With a format featuring three hetas and a final with three groups of drivers againts each other due to the high number of entries, the first race of the weekend saw Mathilda Paatz starting from 4th place and Michalina Sabaj from 21st.
The race failed to get off to a proper start because Gaspar stalled on the formation lap, necessitating a second formation lap. This time, everything went smoothly, at least for a short while: Louza and Polak collided, triggering a safety car period. By this point, Paatz had already moved up to 2nd place with a stunning start, while Sabaj had managed to gain one position. The race restarted with 11 minutes remaining.
In the battle for 2nd place immediately after the restart, however, the driver behind her hit Paatz, causing her to spin on the start-finish straight. She dropped to practically the back of the field; however she could quickly catch up to the pack and make rapid progress to 20th place.
Meanwhile, Sabaj moved up to 17th. It took both of them just two minutes to gain two positions each: Paatz even managed to overtake Sabaj and charge further up the field, ultimately finishing 14th. Sabaj held on to 17th place to the finish.
The entire female entries competed in the second race: this time, Paatz started from 3rd place, Ella Häkkinen from 8th, Alexia Danielsson from 12th, and Michalina Sabaj again from 21st.
With another superb launch, Paatz quickly secures the lead, while further back, a three-car collision occurred involving Danielsson, who was unfortunately out of the race. Before the safety car was deployed, Paatz had however lost the lead, with Häkkinen dropping one place, whereas Sabaj moved up to 16th thanks to a good start. Unfortunately, Danielsson was forced to retire.
The race restarted with 16 minutes left on the clock: Paatz slipped back to 4th place, meanwhile, Häkkinen regained the position she had lost. Sabaj was not as fortunate: the Polish racer dropped back to 20th place in the minutes following the restart. Two laps later, Häkkinen briefly lost two places but manages to fight back and regain one of them.
With 10 minutes remaining, Paatz also was also down to fifth; meanwhile, Sabaj had recovered and fought her way back up to 17th. She gained another two positions before the final minutes. On the penultimate lap, Häkkinen managed to snatch eighth place from Errigo.
With a fourth place finish, Mathilda Paatz returned to the top five in the series after a fifth place in Salzburgring and secured her personal bets of the season to date. Ella Häkkinen was seventh, also improving on her personal best and retaining a 100% point-scoring record. Sabaj was 16th.
In Race 3, Häkkinen held the best starting position among the women, starting from eighth place again, while Danielsson lined up from 12th. Häkkinen was off to a slow start and dropped to 12th place. On the third lap, however, she reclaimed 11th place on the approach to Turn 1 and subsequently secured 10th place as well.
With 18 minutes left, her charge up the field was interrupted by a big accident behind her, triggering a red flag. The race restarted initially behind the safety car before getting properly underway with 12 minutes remaining. Danielsson had also lost ground at the start, running in 14th place. One lap after the restart, Häkkinen moved up to ninth place.
With seven minutes to go, the Cezary Bien got stuck in the gravel, and the safety car was again deployed. Neither driver was able to improve their position after that, as Häkkinen finished ninth - adding a fifth top-10 finish to her campaign - and Alexia Danielsson secured one point with 15th.
The final race featured all the female drivers qualifying for the fourth race of the weekend at Slovakiaring. Ella Häkkinen was again the highest-placed starter, in 12th position. Mathilda Paatz followed in 14th, Michalina Sabaj in 22nd, and Alexia Danielsson in 26th.
The start was smooth: Häkkinen took 13th place, while Paatz moved up to 12th. Danielsson and Sabaj remained further adrift. On the third lap, Paatz managed to take 10th place on the approach to the first corner, while Häkkinen stayed in the thick of the battle and ultimately managed to snatch 11th place from Paatz, who had dropped back in the meantime. Meanwhile, Danielsson was running in 23rd and Sabaj in 26th.
With 17 minutes remaining, Paatz was first spun around by the driver behind her and then hit again. She was forced to retire and understandably vented her anger on the rival who also dropped out of the race.
The safety car was deployed due to the accidents; the restart took place with 10 minutes left - the driver in second place failed to accelerate, causing chaos behind before the rest of the field. As a result, Häkkinen was cuaght out and dropped to 12th place.
With four minutes to go, she however collided with an opponent while challenging for 11th place and was forced to take a detour through the gravel trap, dropping back to 24th. Ultimately, Alexia Danielsson finished as the top female driver in 15th place, ahead of Michalina Sabaj in 17th.
The next Formula 4 CEZ race weekend is scheduled for 31 July to 2 August at Autodrom Most, Czech Republic.
