Daruvala wraps up points finish for PREMA Racing
PREMA Racing came out of the ninth round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship with another points finish today in the Feature Race at Circuit Paul Ricard. Jehan Daruvala started from the P10 on the grid after finishing second in the Sprint Race on Saturday and went for a long early stint on prime tyres to bank on a possible safety car.
Although the needed situation did not materialize, the 23-year-old Indian put up a late charge on options and fought back to P7 which allowed him to consolidate fourth place in the driver championship.
Dennis Hauger had a troubled day. The 18-year-old Norwegian had a good start and quickly began gaining positions. Unfortunately, he was involved in a contact that eventually conditioned the rest of his race. Hauger eventually finished in P16.
#1 - Dennis Hauger
"It was a hard race. I had a decent start and a decent first lap, and I gained a few positions. Then two cars in front just collided, and I just got caught up in the middle of it, couldn't avoid it. After that, I made a few positions up on options and at the beginning of the prime stint. I don't know if there was some damage, but I struggled a lot with rear temps. Definitely some good bits coming up in the middle of the race, which was still compromised by the early crash."
#2 - Jehan Daruvala
"Starting P10 and finishing P7 is not too bad. I think our strategy was quite good. We gambled on having a safety car which eventually didn't come out. The boys did a good pit-stop again. At maximum, we could have gained a position by boxing a lap earlier, but as I said, we were gambling on a safety car to try and get a race win or a podium. In the end, P7 was a good result from where we started. We need to find more pace on Friday, and surely we will be fighting for the front on Sundays. That's the goal for Budapest next weekend."