F4 CEZ: Mathilda Paatz scores points at Red Bull Ring, Sabaj in top-15

Mathilda Paatz secured her first points in F4 at Red Bull Ring, the opening round of the 2025 F4 CEZ, by claiming a career-best ninth place in Race 3, as she bounced back from misfortunes in the first two races.

Photo credits: F4 CEZ

Mathilda Paatz secured her first points in Formula 4 at Red Bull Ring, the opening round of the 2025 F4 Central European Zone (CEZ) championship, by claiming a career-best ninth place in Race 3. The result was a reward for her top-10 pace throughout the weekend, as she bounced back from misfortunes in the first two races.

Paatz, who competed in French F4 in 2024 in her rookie single-seater season, had previously achieved a personal best of tenth at Dijon, albeit in the shorter second race which only awarded points to the top eight.

Now joining F4 CEZ for her first season in the Tatuus F4 machine, Paatz competes with the family-run Mathilda Racing squad. It was a strong debut for the young German, who showed strong pace with a brilliant comeback in Race 1, a stellar start in Race 2 before contact ended her charge, and finally a points-scoring performance in Race 3.

Alongside Paatz, two other female drivers are competing in F4 CEZ in 2025. Polish racer Michalina Sabaj returns for her sophomore campaign with AS Motorsport; Sabaj was the highest-placed woman in Race 2 and secured two top-15 finishes. She was fifth in the 2024 drivers' standings after a solid debut season, with 11 point-scoring results and a personal best of fourth at Salzburgring.

Making her race car debut was Kiara Henni, who steps up from karting to race for the family-run Henni Performance team. The young German focused on progress and closing the gap to the field, achieving a personal best of P17 in the final race of the weekend.

After a Friday free practice session, drivers aimed to get up to speed quickly. Paatz immediately showed top-10 potential with a 1:33.617, 1.3 seconds off pace-setter Bart Harrison.

In qualifying, Paatz clocked a 1:33.763 and was close to the top 10, running P12 with 8 minutes to go.

Sabaj initially ran a 1:34.3 but improved to 1:33.232, propelling her to ninth. Henni continued working on her pace, improving to a 1:40.7. A red flag halted the session with 5 minutes remaining; after the restart, Sabaj secured P10 with a remarkable lap. Paatz qualified P13, while Henni found a full second late in the session to set a 1:39.047 and qualify P21.

Photo credits: F4 CEZ

Race 1

Sabaj started from P9, Paatz lined up in P13, and Henni from P20 for the first 25-minute race of the season. The lights went out, and there were multiple contacts at the back of the pack early on: the safety car was soon deployed due to a collision between the two Renauer Motorsport teammates, with Simon Schranz suffering the worst and retiring from the race. Paatz was also caught in the incident and dropped to the back of the field. Meanwhile, Henni avoided the chaos and moved up into P18 by keeping it clean into Turn 1.

Sabaj lost a few positions from ninth, falling to P12, but remained within reach of the top ten as the race was neutralized. When the race went back to green with 16 minutes remaining, Paatz began her recovery. She picked up a position as Hady Mimassi pitted with damage, then cleared Schropp, Henni, and Bouquet on the following lap.

Sabaj was holding her own in the midfield but slipped to P13, while Henni gained another position as Schropp hit trouble. Paatz, on strong pace, passed Dyrved and Nemec, continuing her charge. She now had a 2-second gap to Sabaj, who was consistently running 1:34.2s and chasing the cars ahead, including Gorcica. As Sabaj attacked Gorcica, Paatz used the battling ahead to close the gap and join the group.

Henni continued to improve her times, showing solid progression and running 1:37.9 by lap 11.

On lap 12, Paatz found a way past both Sabaj and Gorcica to climb into P12. She then went on the offensive against Benett Gaspar, but a lock-up into a corner saw her run deep, allowing Gorcica to retake the position. Sabaj was right behind, looking to take advantage.

Paatz fought back but ultimately had to settle for P13, finishing four tenths ahead of Michalina Sabaj in P14. Kiara Henni completed her first-ever race in Formula 4 with a solid and clean drive, crossing the line in P18.

Photo credits: F4 CEZ

Race 2

Colder temperatures greeted drivers for the second race of the weekend, making for a tricky first lap filled with contact. Paatz got off to a strong start and climbed up to P8 with a remarkable opening lap.

Sabaj, however, dropped to the back of the field after early issues, with Henni running in P19.

Unfortunately, Paatz’s promising run came to an abrupt end as she was involved in a close fight within the top ten. A car behind made contact, slicing her Tatuus rear tyre with its front wing. Paatz went deep into the runoff gravel and was forced to retire after just one lap, despite clearly having top-ten pace. The safety car was deployed.

When the green flag waved again with 19 minutes remaining, Sabaj and Henni had to charge from the back. Sabaj moved into P16 with a strong restart, passing Henni, who also gained a position by overtaking Gorcica. Sabaj continued her recovery, overtaking Dyrved a lap later to claim P15. She quickly pulled away from the Maffi Racing driver and set her sights on Lo Bue. While she initially gained ground, Lo Bue soon picked up the pace and created a gap.

Henni unfortunately spun at Turn 1 on lap 5 but rejoined the race behind Gorcica, who had previously gone off into the gravel. She then pitted to assess damage, losing a lap but eventually returning to the track.

By lap 9, Sabaj had closed the gap to the battling trio of Lo Bue, Bouquet, and Nemec. As Lo Bue overtook Nemec, the three began fighting, allowing Sabaj to reduce the gap to around 1.5 seconds. Dyrved also tried to latch onto the group. Sabaj caught Nemec on lap 13 and completed a clean pass to take 14th place with two minutes remaining.

With just over a second between her AS Motorsport car and Bouquet ahead, Sabaj set quicker lap times and closed in on the final lap, ultimately finishing just a few tenths behind in P14 after a determined and well-executed recovery.

After her earlier spin, Henni ran a lonely race towards the back but completed the contest, collecting valuable mileage and experience. She crossed the line in P18.

Photo credits: F4 CEZ

Race 3

The third and final race of the weekend presented a fresh opportunity for the three female drivers to deliver results after two challenging races. Mathilda Paatz started from P13, Michalina Sabaj from P14, and Kiara Henni from P18, all eager to make progress.

Rain arrived just before the start, and the race began behind the safety car. From the second row, Chase Fernandez stalled on the grid and was pushed back to the pit lane as the rest of the field followed the safety car. Paatz and Sabaj therefore gained one position each even before the green flag, moving into P12 and P13 respectively. Nicolas Cortes opted to pit for slicks at the end of the first lap.

As Luca Viisoreanu prepared to restart the race with 20 minutes to go, a crash at the back involving Frantisek Nemec brought the field under another neutralization after just a few corners.

Paatz maintained P12, while Sabaj dropped to P16, just ahead of Henni. David Walther also pitted with front wing damage and switched to slick tyres.

The race resumed with 12 minutes to go. Paatz had a strong restart and immediately moved up to P11, while Sabaj and Henni were running P16 and P17. Up front, Gino Trappa led Bart Harrison and Max Karhan. In tricky grip conditions, Paatz fought hard for a top-ten position but dropped back to P12 as Teo Schropp made gains. However, Paatz responded by setting a 1:46.3 on lap 7 and reclaimed tenth place just before another safety car period, triggered by Teodor Borenstein getting stuck in the gravel.

Sabaj was lapping in the 1:49.1 range and was chasing Romuald Bocquet. Henni continued her clean run despite the conditions and held P18. Following the restart with just three minutes remaining, Paatz ran deep into Turn 1 and dropped back to P12 but managed to rejoin safely.

As the race entered its final stages, chaos unfolded at the front in a three-wide battle involving the Jenzer Motorsport teammates, which ended in contact and saw Schropp go off. Paatz navigated the incidents skillfully and recovered well on the final lap to take tenth place, later promoted to ninth after post-race penalties. It was a deserved result that finally showcased her potential after an unlucky weekend.

Sabaj had a late-race battle with Bocquet and crossed the line just one-tenth behind, finishing in P16. Henni completed all three races on her debut weekend, made no mistakes in difficult conditions, and concluded her weekend with a P17 finish—gaining crucial experience along the way.

All three racers will aim to build on their progress at the next round, which is scheduled again at the Styrian venue of Red Bull Ring on 17-18 May.