Dennis Hauger is hopeful that after a difficult phase of the season, he can return to form at the Hungaroring, a track where he has had plenty of success in the past.

The MP Motorsport driver made a strong start to the season, winning the Jeddah Sprint Race before finishing third in the Feature.

He then followed that up with another return to the rostrum in the Melbourne Saturday event after taking his maiden Formula 2 Pole Position the day prior.

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But since the in-season test, his results have taken a slight dip, with just the one podium, which came at the Monte Carlo Sprint, in the six rounds that have followed.

However, ahead of a return to Budapest, a track where Hauger has won at in both Formula 2 and 3, he is feeling confident of returning to form.

“It's a cool track,” previewed Hauger. “It's going to be a warm weekend, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it looks in terms of degradation for the race as well.

“Last year the softs lasted for quite long in the Feature Race, but it was colder, so we will see how that goes. We are also on the Hard compound this year, last year we were on the Medium.

Hauger has shown great pace in Qualifying and has two pole positions this season
Hauger has shown great pace in Qualifying and has two pole positions this season

“Overall, the track is really cool, it’s a fun track to drive around and I've always enjoyed racing here. Obviously passing is not easy sometimes here, you can do stuff with the strategy but obviously Qualifying is going to be really important.

“Looking ahead to the weekend we have a good chance of doing something, the pace has definitely been there the last few races, especially for Qualifying, we have sorted that out a bit, so I am looking forward to keeping that momentum up.”

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As Hauger says, the pace in Qualifying has been quite strong, with the Norwegian driver having also achieved pole in Spielberg and P3 last time out at Silverstone.

Performance over one lap is something Hauger previously acknowledged as an area he is has been looking to improve and while he has, it has not led the Sunday results he would have wanted.

In Spielberg, he stalled at the start of the Formation Lap from pole and ended up finishing the Feature in 12th. A week later, he had a poor getaway at Silverstone that dropped him down the order although he recovered to cross the line in P9.

Hauger says he and Franco Colapinto have a good foundation to start from in Budapest
Hauger says he and Franco Colapinto have a good foundation to start from in Budapest

“That was obviously a very disappointing Sunday in Spielberg,” he said. “We have had the pace to get some good points and it was an important place in the Championship to get back up into contention.

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“Obviously, Silverstone as well we had some good chances and just didn't make the most of it in the end. We lost quite a bit in the start and from then on not the best feeling, but we have some things to work on for this weekend,

“We need to make the starts good and then overall we have a strong ground for me and Franco Colapinto the last few races, so we are definitely there. We just need to keep on going and keep doing what we are doing at the moment, and it will come, I am sure.”