Blog
The 2025 F4 CEZ Championship got underway at the iconic Red Bull Ring in April with a strong grid of young talents – and among them, three young women Michalina Sabaj, Mathilda Paatz and Kiara Henni made their mark in the Woman Trophy classification.
Michalina Sabaj (AS Motorsport) – 20.5 points
Leading the Woman Trophy standings after the first round is Michalina Sabaj. The Polish driver showed consistency across all three races, finishing second in class twice and taking her Woman Trophy win in Race 2. Starting from 9th overall in qualifying, Sabaj maintained a steady pace through the weekend despite a few on-track incidents.
“There was plenty of fighting, lots of emotions and even more learning,” Sabaj reflected. “Despite a few unlucky incidents, I’m really happy with the outcome. I’m taking this experience with me and looking forward to the next races with excitement!”
Mathilda Paatz (Mathilda Racing) – 17 points
German driver Mathilda Paatz had a rollercoaster weekend but proved she’s one to watch. After qualifying 13th, she stormed from the back of the field after pit stop in Race 1 to finish 13th overall and first among the women – a spectacular recovery drive following an early incident.
“Smooth start to the race,” she explained, “however I had contact on the first lap so I had to come in to change my front wing. Thankfully the gap under safety car stayed manageable, and I made my way up the ranks from dead last to P13.”
Though Race 2 ended with a DNF because of the puncture, she bounced back to win the Woman Trophy again in Race 3 with a strong 9th-place finish overall. Paatz leaves the Red Bull Ring just 3.5 points behind Sabaj and clearly has the speed to challenge for the lead.
Kiara Henni (Henni Performance) – 13 points
Making her F4 CEZ debut, Kiara Henni showed promising progress throughout the weekend. The 17-year-old German may not have scored points in the overall classification, but she consistently finished all three races and scored two third places and one second place in Woman Trophy.
Although starting from 21st on the grid, Henni’s composed performance highlighted her resilience and growth.While she didn’t break into the top 10, Henni gained crucial experience, completed every race, and steadily built pace and confidence—an important first step in a long season ahead.
