2022 Round 6 post-Feature Race press conference

Thoughts from Hauger, Sargeant and Drugovich

FIA Formula 2: Many congratulations to the top three finishers of the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race here in Baku in third place Felipe Drugovich for MP Motorsport in second place Logan Sargent for Carlin. And taking his first feature race win in FIA Formula 2 Dennis Hauger for PREMA, Dennis you won the Sprint Race in Monaco last time out, now you're a Feature Race winner as well. You've won a lot of races in your career. Does this feel different?

Dennis Hauger: Definitely. The first Feature Race win in F2 is a really good feeling, especially after such a chaotic race. To be honest, I just tried to stay calm. We had a good pitstop and got Liam. I think the overcut worked quite nicely for others. In the end, we stayed calm, and we put a bit of pressure on Jüri. Obviously, a shame for him. He had a good weekend, and he had a really good pace this weekend. So I feel sorry for him, but I'm really happy with the way it worked out today.

FIA Formula 2: It was a tremendous battle between you and Jüri, you kept the pressure on him throughout just how hard were the two of you pushing at that point in the race?

Hauger: I was pushing quite a bit. To be fair, I was just trying to stay within the DRS, he was pushing quite a lot, especially for the rears. Before that, I think I put in a purple Sector 1 and I felt like I was gaining some ground and had quite a good pace. So at that time, I really wanted to push to try and get closer to the DRS zone. He was quite close to the wall in the castle a couple of times, actually. I don't know if it was pressure or just a small mistake, but there are tiny margins around there.

FIA Formula 2: And after the disappointment of yesterday's Sprint Race, what were your thoughts coming into today?

Hauger: Getting a Feature Race win to be honest! It wasn't optimal yesterday. I had a small mistake, I locked up and that made me DNF but I still knew that the pace was there. We were quite quick yesterday, and quicker than Jüri as well at some points. So I was quite confident we would be up there fighting and having good lap time. So for me, it was just about staying clean and staying calm, especially in P2 with DRS I knew I had to wait a bit before I could start to attack as well. There was no point leading for no reason. It was just about trying to stay calm in the end.

FIA Formula 2: Has this changed your ambitions for the rest of the season?

Hauger: No, I mean as me and Logan talked about earlier, it's been such a roller coaster in F2, especially as rookies. It's just about keeping the progression going. We got the Sprint Race win in Monaco and now the Feature Race win so there's definitely progression there. We just have to keep building that up.

FIA Formula 2: Best of luck. Well done. Logan, let's come to you then, seventh on the grid to second. It was a great race for you and Carlin, what were the crucial moments for you?

Logan Sargeant: I'd say we kept it clean, which was absolutely a necessity. I feel like my first lap was extremely good. I got up to fifth and then from there, I just tried to execute the best race I could and have good pace. We had a good pitstop as well, so it all just seemed to come together.

FIA Formula 2: Dennis has just referenced the progression that you guys are going through in Formula 2, how significant is today for you?

Sargeant: This potential has been here, but to deliver it has been extremely difficult. I feel like the lack of experience has hurt in some places. But I feel like I'm really starting to tick those boxes and get over those hurdles. I learned a massive lesson yesterday with Safety Cars and VSCs and also on the restarts. Then today, they were really good. So it's stuff like that. You have to learn from it, have a short memory, and move on.

FIA Formula 2: You've had good pace all weekend, just tell us how good was the car balance over today's 26 laps?

Sargeant: Looking back on it, there are definitely a couple of things I would have made a little different. I struggled a bit in Sector 2, which was which is where they were pulling the gap on me but I'd say in general it was a good car and a big thanks to the team.

FIA Formula 2: Okay, well done to you. Felipe coming to you now. Congratulations as well. P5 to P3 That's a very successful day at the office. I did want to ask you though, coming into this race, what were your expectations?

Felipe Drugovich: Our expectations before the weekend weren't that high. I would say the pace wasn't quite there to do races. Of course, I could keep myself there, but I was really on the limit every time. At the same time, I was also trying to be really safe, because we're focusing on the points now. I think getting a P3 here is extremely good for us. I think that's what we did, until the last of Safety Car where I had a touch on the wall we kept it clean mostly.

FIA Formula 2: Now, when you think of your pace back in Barcelona, how good was the car today relative to then?

Drugovich: Not even close. But I'm pretty satisfied with my job. I know I made the most out of it. As the guys were saying, I think experience counts a lot. So in the places where we don't have the pace, we manage to overcome it with experience so that's always very welcome. I'm very pleased with this weekend. As I said, Monaco, we weren't so confident but we managed to be faster. Here, we weren't so confident as well, but we were not that quick. We managed to score good points so I'm really happy about the result.

FIA Formula 2: Well done to you.