PREMA Racing scored a top-5 finish in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Feature Race today at Zandvoort. After bouncing back to the podium in Race 1, Dennis Hauger had the potential to achieve the same result again but fell short due to a pit-lane situation.
Hauger made a flaming start and moved up to P3 by the opening lap. After his first stint, he went for the mandatory change to move from option to prime tyres. Unfortunately, the team had to hold him as a car was approaching to avoid an unsafe release, and that eventually dropped him back. Hauger fought in the mid-pack and, profiting from some incidents, he crossed the finish line in P4.
Jehan Daruvala had an eventful day. Starting from P17, he went into an early spin but the safety cars helped him to catch the tail of the pack. The Indian Red Bull Junior got a positive break when he stopped in the pits right after a multi-car restart crash, seconds before the pitlane was closed. That vaulted him to the battle for points. Daruvala gained valuable ground and eventually ended up in P11.
The FIA Formula 2 Championship will be back for the penultimate round of 2022 next weekend at Monza.
#1 - Dennis Hauger
"Decent Race. I think a good step this weekend, third and fourth, we got to be happy with that. I got a good start, up to P3. It felt pretty good on the softs or sort of in the mix. We struggled a bit more on the hards, I think we lost a bit in the pits. Other than that, it was a good race. We need to try to keep building on this. Still a bit of pace to find on the harder compound during the race, but we definitely went in the right direction."
#2 - Jehan Daruvala
"I think it was not an easy race again. I made a mistake at the beginning and put myself on the back foot. I took the opportunity for a free pitstop, and in the end, we did 15 laps on options, we had to manage them, but we did OK. It's a shame to miss out on one point, but I guess from P17 around here to finish P11 is not too bad. Hopefully, next week I can find more pace in qualifying and fight at the front in the races."