Hauger, PREMA Racing storm to pivotal Zandvoort pole
Delivering a stellar flying lap when it mattered the most, Dennis Hauger handed PREMA Racing pole position in qualifying for the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Zandvoort. The Norwegian quickly found himself fighting at the front, but only in his final lap managed to put everything together, rocketing to his third pole of the year.
Although today’s result means P12 for the 18-year-old Red Bull junior driver in the reverse-grid race 1, Hauger secured four extra championship points and will start from pole in Sunday’s main race.
Teammates Arthur Leclerc and Olli Caldwell had a hard time finding space for their final attempts when a red flag bunched up the pack. The Monegasque rounded out the top-10 for a row 2 start in race 1, while the British racer had to settle for P16 having to deal with DRS gremlins on his racecar.
#1 DENNIS HAUGER
“It was a chaotic qualifying overall, with a lot of things happening, including two red flags, but in the end, we did a step in the right direction, and I felt quite confident around the track. It was nice to get that last lap in and take the pole, and it’s a good comeback from Spa-Francorchamps. Now we have to keep the good momentum for the races.”
Qualifying: P1
Fastest lap: 1:24.580
#2 ARTHUR LECLERC
“I’m quite disappointed because I think P10 is not representative of the pace we had today. It was just a mistake in the last lap. I need to work on myself to maximise all the opportunities we might get from now on.”
Qualifying: P10
Fastest lap: 1:25.422
#3 OLLI CALDWELL
“Unfortunately, it was a terrible qualifying. DRS didn’t work, so we missed out on a lot of track time. Because of that, the car was in the wrong position for the one lap we had at the end, and that hindered the pace. In the beginning, we were around P12 with no DRS, and we were super strong, but that issue ruined our session…”
Qualifying: P16
Fastest lap: 1:25.752
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing