PREMA Racing experienced mixed feelings today in qualifying for the Italian round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at Monza. Lining up at the Italian Grand Prix track, the team showed good pace but a late yellow flag, which turned into a red flag and an early session end, prevented Jehan Daruvala and Dennis Hauger from closing their final flying laps.
The Indian, who was coming from a challenging weekend in Zandvoort, had a shot at pole position but was left without a crucial opportunity to put his lap together. He eventually ended up in P6, which offers him good chances in both races considering the chances for overtaking at the team's home circuit.
Hauger had a tough time in extracting a clean lap, and eventually finished in P19. The Norwegian will need a bold recovery to bounce back into contention for the races, but the past editions showed that it can be done with the right conditions and pace, so the team is working hard to make a difference and help him make a step in the right direction.
#1 - Dennis Hauger
"It was a really bad qualifying. I made a mistake in my second push run but still, the lap wasn't really fast before the red flag. Overall, not so good. Here there are a lot of opportunities in the races, we have to cool down for tomorrow and do the best job we can. "
#2 - Jehan Daruvala
"I think after last week P6 is good as we had a car to fight for pole, so I'm quite happy. My second lap was coming together good as well, but unfortunately with yellows I couldn't really improve. I'm happy, we made a good step forward in the last two weekends. Last week Dennis showed it in Zandvoort, but this weekend we showed a bit of pace again. I'm happy with the progress. We have a good pace to fight in both races."