ADAC Formula 4 was launched in 2015 under FIA Formula 4 regulations, replacing the ADAC Formel Masters (2008–2014). The series used a Tatuus-built chassis powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre Abarth engine — the same package shared with the Italian F4 Championship — and was designed to keep costs within strict FIA limits, making it accessible to karting graduates. Prema, already well established in Italian junior formulae and FIA Formula 3, expanded into the German series from its first season.
Prema ran multiple cars per season in ADAC Formula 4, consistent with the team's approach of operating large, multi-driver programmes across junior championships. The team used its German F4 programme alongside its Italian F4 effort, allowing it to offer drivers opportunities across both national campaigns in the same calendar year. A number of drivers who would go on to race in higher formulae for Prema began their single-seater careers through the team's ADAC F4 entry.
Lance Stroll, who won the inaugural 2015 Italian F4 Championship with Prema, was among the early representatives of Prema's dual F4 strategy. Ralf Aron, who also raced for Prema across multiple junior categories, competed in ADAC F4 as part of the team's broader junior roster. The combination of the German and Italian F4 programmes gave Prema the ability to develop young drivers rapidly within a structured environment and with consistent engineering support across circuits.
ADAC Formula 4 ran for eight seasons, from 2015 to 2022. In its final year, the field had dwindled significantly, with only eleven drivers at the last round at the Nurburgring. By contrast, the Italian F4 Championship continued with over forty starters at its final round the same season, reflecting the structural shift in where European junior single-seater talent was concentrating. On 3 December 2022, the ADAC announced the series would not continue for 2023, citing high costs relative to comparable national Formula 4 championships and insufficient driver numbers.
Prema's ADAC F4 programme was one component of a junior ladder strategy that covered Italian F4, ADAC F4, Formula Regional European Championship, FIA Formula 3, FIA Formula 2, and eventually IndyCar. The team used the German series as an entry-level platform, channelling promising graduates upward through its European F3 and later Formula 2 squads. The ADAC F4 effort reflected Prema's position as the pre-eminent Italian motorsport team operating at the base of the FIA Global Pathway, with the German series providing additional track time and competitive exposure for drivers in the 15-to-18 age bracket.
ADAC Formula 4 produced several drivers who reached Formula One, including Prema alumni who passed through the series early in their careers. The closure of the series in 2022 consolidated European Formula 4 competition increasingly around the Italian championship and the newly formed F4 CEZ and other national series, with teams such as Prema naturally redirecting their junior-level resources accordingly.