Dennis Hauger cruised to a spectacular win for PREMA Racing today at Baku in Race 2 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the fast Caspian street venue. The Norwegian, who was coming from his maiden Sprint Race win at Monte Carlo, got a second, sweet chance to celebrate on the podium with a sharp performance.
Starting from P3 on the grid, the 19-year-old Red Bull Junior driver stayed out of trouble in the long Sunday race and made the most of every opportunity with a mix of passing, a jump with a fast pit-stop and a mistake from a competitor. In a race disrupted by safety cars and crashes, Hauger's remarkably clean run was rewarded with the biggest prize, and with a nice bump in the driver standings.
Jehan Daruvala started from the 8th place on the grid as per the qualifying results. The Indian racer showed the same, impressive pace he had on Saturday, when he was able to fight for victory in the Sprint Race. Daruvala made up four positions and also gained great points.
PREMA Racing will also leave Baku with a great boost in terms of points, morale and momentum, as it moved up to second in the team classification. The next event will be at the beginning of July at Silverstone and will provide another chance to the Hauger-Daruvala pairing.
#1 - Dennis Hauger
"I'm obviously really happy with the performance we had today, especially after yesterday when we knew we had the pace but due to a mistake from my side, we couldn't maximize it. Today I really wanted that win and we got it, it's very good for the championship and the confidence as well. We just have to keep this progression going, keep working and keep the rhythm we have, making steps all the time which is the key. I'm happy with the weekend, with what we accomplished, now into Silverstone!"
#2 - Jehan Daruvala
"I think P4 starting from P8 is a decent result, and obviously a great result for the team with Dennis in P1. I'm a bit disappointed not to be on the podium because I saw the damage on Dragovich's car, he was lucky enough that the safety car stayed out. Still, a good weekend, we were fighting at the top in both races. From my side, I think I just need to improve qualifying and start further up the grid to try to win the feature race. From eighth to fourth, it is a good result, I scored 20 points so it's still a good weekend."