I sat down with a tall Swiss talent from Lucerne for an interview. Looking into a set of honest brown eyes, he started to talk to me about his current season in the German ADAC Formula 4 series. Moritz Mueller-Crepon is not only working towards his dream of becoming a professional racing driver, but is also living his passion through the medium that is motorsport.
“As my stepfather is a race mechanic, working on historic cars, I grew up at race tracks,” explained Mueller-Crepon. “My first laps in a kart were when I was four years old, in a car park near the Nordschleife. But as quickly as I started, it all came to a halt after a heavy crash. I returned to karting when I was either nine or ten years old, but it was as a hobby, not in a professional sense.” But both he and his family soon found out he had a very competitive nature, which emerged when Mueller-Crepon started to think about becoming a race driver, despite a difficult start to his racing journey. “I had planned to drive in a BMW in Formula Lista, but the series was cancelled. Two difficult years followed this, with a lot of hard work in Formula Renault. However, I was contacted by Andreas Jenzer, and from there, the journey into Formula 4 began.”
The ADAC Formula 4 category is considered as one of the most competitive junior championships around, and last year fans were able to watch Mueller-Crepon take his first steps in the series, which saw him pilot an eye-catching light green Jenzer Motorsport race car. Even though the 19-year-old experienced a challenging first season, it was good for Mueller-Crepon, as it helped to build on his skills as a racer. The Swiss driver finished tenth, along with taking his first points finish in the final race of last year. In his debut season, both Mueller-Crepon and his family had the realization that being inthe right environment has the best influence possible. “We spent a lot of time and many races together at Jenzer, which made us become family. Nevertheless, it was time to move on,” said the Swiss driver.
With the guiding principle of “It Takes Many To Achieve One Goal,” Mueller-Crepon made the decision to make a fresh start, moving on to Van Amersfoort Racing. The Dutch-based outfit, run by founder and team principal Frits Van Amersfoort, has a long-standing tradition in racing, and is considered to be one of the top teams in the series. A visible progress in Mueller-Crepon’s development showed both on and off-track, but the results so far haven’t reflected how he has advanced. “So far, my season’s been disappointing. We were title contenders at the beginning, and appear to be going nowhere at the moment. Even if the speed is there, it doesn’t seem to be working out,” stated Mueller-Crepon, who finally made it back into the points, finishing seventh in the final race at the Nuerburgring.
Despite this run of form so far, he remains full of confidence: “There’s not much need to think about positions until the final round of the championship, so we’ll see what we can do until then. With a few more good races, I think we can definitely make it into the top ten.” In the meantime, he is continuing to work hard towards success in the future, as well as the remainder of the F4 season. “I’m doing a lot of physical training before a race weekend, as well as working out twice a day, six days a week,” explained the 19-year-old, who has a busy schedule. “I’m also at the Van Amersfoort Racing workshop, analyzing the past few races with the team, making comparisons with last year and what happened at the last race weekend.”
Realizing how much hard work is required, along with being one of the only real characters in the field, Mueller-Crepon has the full support of Van Amersfoort Racing, along with his own personal entourage, manager Marlise Lienhard and press officer Annika Goecke. “I’m still learning a lot, which can be very tiring, meaning I can’t do everything myself. I appreciate any type of help that I have, such as that which I receive from my personal team. As a result, I can focus and spend more of my time concentrating on the work I have to do as a driver,” he admitted.
A season’s budget in ADAC Formula 4 is around 300,000 Euros, with Mueller-Crepon’s grandfather funding half of the budget himself. “For those that think we are a rich family, they are very much mistaken. My grandfather set himself the target of supporting me whenever he could, and I’m very grateful for that, because I can fulfill my dream,” said Mueller-Crepon. The likeable Swiss driver’s ultimate goal is to race and to win Le Mans. If there’s one driver you want to keep an eye on, make sure you remember the name Moritz Mueller-Crepon. He’s definitely one to watch.
