‘I was scratching the wall’ – Hauger was pushing to the limit in the Feature Race

28 March 2022

Dennis Hauger took his best Formula 2 result to date in the Jeddah Feature Race, going from 10th to sixth, but the PREMA Racing driver has conceded that the team need to get on top of their Qualifying struggles ahead of Round 3 in Imola.

The 2021 Driver and Teams’ Champions – who took five poles in a row at the end of last season – have yet to qualify in the top five this year.

Hauger’s teammate Jehan Daruvala had to climb from 14th to take the team’s first podium of the season on Sunday, while the Norwegian made it to sixth on the alternate strategy.

“At least it was a clean one,” said Hauger on his second F2 weekend. “We could have gotten a few more points on Saturday, but I think we managed the Sunday quite well. I think that I was a bit too slow at the beginning of the first stint, but after that, I found some pace.

Hauger climbed from 10th to sixth in the Feature Race

“We weren’t able to do too many laps around here this weekend and it was my first time on a street circuit, so I was building into it a bit. Overall, it is good to get into a rhythm and get some points.

“It gives us something to work from in the next couple of rounds. We could have taken more points, but I am happy with what we managed to do. It gives us a positive mindset going forward.”

Before the third round of the season at Imola, PREMA have testing in Barcelona to work on any shortcomings, before a run of two street tracks in four races.

“I still think that Qualifying is an area to keep focusing on,” he continued. “That is where we've been lacking a bit, although it was better here than in Bahrain.

Hauger is in his rookie season with PREMA Racing

“This track was especially fast, so it was just about maximising it. Doing the race run and getting some laps in taught me a lot. I learned a lot about finding the limit in a different sort of way.

“I was scratching the wall at Turn 17 and was pushing for my life in those last couple of laps on primes, so it was a good experience. I am looking forward to driving at Monaco now, which is a track that everyone wants to go to.

“It will be good to have the test in Barcelona to get some mileage in, and I know the European tracks a bit better, so I think I’ll have a better feeling there.”