Hauger wins, Caldwell scores podium at Red Bull Ring
PREMA Racing enjoyed a successful day at Red Bull Ring as the FIA Formula 3 Championship went underway at the Styrian venue for the weekend’s two reverse-grid races.
Having secured pole for the main race of the weekend on Sunday, Dennis Hauger delivered a sensational drive through the pack moving from P12 at the start to take a superb win. The Norwegian didn’t make mistakes at the start and progressed steadily as the laps went by. When contact between the two frontrunners provided a chance, Hauger sealed the deal. In race 2, he used the same strategy. Avoiding contact amidst the initial mayhem, although a tough start dropped him back a bit, he took every opportunity and eventually claimed another podium.
Race 1 provided the team with a 1-2 finish, as Olli Caldwell worked his way up to P2 from P5 on the grid with a brilliant performance. The British racer then harvested more points with P9 in race 2.
Having had to retire due to a DRS issue in race 1, Arthur Leclerc went from drama to vengeance, as he posted an unbelievable sixth place on race 2, gaining 21 spots compared to his grid position and posting the fastest lap in the process.
#1 DENNIS HAUGER
“I’m really happy with the win. Starting from P12, I didn’t expect to come forward that much. I was focused on getting some points, but especially in the middle part of the race, we had a great pace, and we managed to get up in traffic. I saw that people started struggling and fighting, so I tried to gain as much as I could from that. I think this has been one of the races I enjoyed the most in my career. I’m also pretty happy with P3 in race 2. I didn’t have a good start, but we built a good gap and moved forward from there. We scored a good amount of points for the championship compared to our competitors, and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”
Qualifying: P1
Starting Grid Race 1: P12
Starting Grid Race 2: P12
Fastest lap: 1:19.726
Race 1: P1
Race 2: P3
#2 ARTHUR LECLERC
“I think in race 2 we showed our real potential after an unlucky race 1. It’s a bit of a shame we started from the back, but the DRS got stuck open, and after a trip through the gravel, there was nothing to do other than retiring. However, we recovered and maximized the opportunities, gaining as many positions as we could.”
Qualifying: P9
Starting Grid Race 1: P4
Starting Grid Race 2: P27
Fastest lap: 1’19″975
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: P6
#3 OLLI CALDWELL
“I’m happy with the result of this morning, definitely good to get to the podium after a hectic race. Race 2 was a tough one with the tyres, we need to look into exactly what happened, but the main thing is that we still scored two points. We just need to learn and put it into the main race for tomorrow.”
Qualifying: P8
Starting Grid Race 1: P5
Starting Grid Race 2: P11
Fastest lap: 1:19.900
Race 1: P2
Race 2: P9
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing