Dennis Hauger reigned supreme in Formula 2 on Friday, storming to his maiden pole in a disrupted qualifying session in Melbourne. Behind him in second place was young rookie Kimi Antonelli. Feeder Series caught up with both drivers after the session.

By Steven Walton

Hauger and Antonelli were the two quickest drivers during the 30-minute qualifying session on Friday, which was disrupted twice by red flags.

The first came early when Victor Martins spun at the exit of turn 6, ending his session. The second was waved with just four minutes to go when Jak Crawford found the barriers at turn 12.

Additionally, Enzo Fittipaldi hit the barriers in the second sector right as the chequered flag fell, bringing out double-waved yellow flags.

‘Room for improvement’

Antonelli finished the session three-tenths behind pacesetter Hauger but told Feeder Series, “I think the gap could have been closer.”

He said it was hard to get his tyres into the operating window.

“Especially because with all the red flags, the pack was really very close, so especially the last sector it was really hard to keep up the temperature.”

Antonelli said he could have done a better job with tyre warmup, saying they did not feel ready when he started his final lap.

He also said he has to find some more confidence in high speed sections and “really trust the car”.

“But also I have to say on my lap, I went even over the limit in some points just because I was really trying to get to the limit,” he said.

“So obviously there was a bit of room for improvement, but I still don’t know if it would’ve been good enough for pole, even with improvements,” he said.

‘It’s been way too long’

Despite racing in F2 for the past two years, Melbourne was the first time Hauger has taken pole in F2.

“You know it’s not been easy for me in Formula 2 overall, especially in qualifying. It’s been tough,” he told Feeder Series. “It’s been way too long since I’ve had a pole.”

Hauger’s last pole position came back in Zandvoort in September 2021 during his title-winning campaign in Formula 3.

Hauger said he and his team, MP Motorsport, have found a balance that works for him in qualifying. 

“It’s been a lot of hard work over the winter,” he said. “I’m really happy with that, and we can sort of build on that together.”

Header image credit: Dutch Photo Agency