PREMA Racing: Hauger takes commanding Race 3 win at Zandvoort

Dennis Hauger put on a masterclass in driving today at Zandvoort, leading from pole to flag in race 3 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, setting the fastest lap in the process and moving to a 43-point advantage on top of the driver championship. The 18-year-old Norwegian kept his lead a the start with wise defence in T1 and then kept sailing away.

PREMA Racing wraps up another positive weekend on-track as a team, with Race 1 winner Arthur Leclerc battling his way to P9 in an extremely hard-fighting mid-pack featuring a train of cars using DRS. Olli Caldwell ended up in P14. Although he really showed great pace and attitude, starting from P16, he could only recover so much on the twisty Dutch venue. He still leaves the event with two solid points finishes.

PREMA Racing heads for the 2021 finale at Sochi with an extended lead in the team championship. 

#1   Dennis Hauger

I'm very happy with the race. The pace was great thanks to small changes that made the difference today throughout the whole race. In the first couple of laps, I tried to push it to open a gap, and after that, I worked to minimize the mistakes and keep it clean from then on, keeping the tyres in the window. In the end, we scored good points in the championship and looking forward to the season finale. We will head back to the team's headquarters to work and prepare for Sochi because it's never over until it's over. It was great to see so many fans on the grandstands. I had never driven with so many people around, and it makes racing so much more enjoyable!"

Qualifying: P1                       Fastest lap: 1'24"580

Starting Grid Race 1: P12      Race 1: P7

Starting Grid Race 2: P6        Race 2: DNF

Starting Grid Race 3: P1        Race 2: P1

#2   Arthur Leclerc

"It was a difficult race. We finished P9 in the end, as it was extremely hard to overtake. The pace was much better than in race 2 and race 1, so I was happy with that, but it was a DRS train at the back, and that made it impossible to create an opportunity to go further."

Qualifying: P10                     Fastest lap: 1'25"422

Starting Grid Race 1: P3        Race 1: P1

Starting Grid Race 2: P12      Race 2: P7

Starting Grid Race 3: P10      Race 2: P9

#3   Olli Caldwell

"It was a difficult race 3. Unfortunately, there was no overtaking, but we made a good step on the car, and that was positive, we figured out what was wrong. Hopefully, in Sochi we will have no issues in qualifying and will be able to start at the front, where we belong, and get some good points to finish the year."

Qualifying: P16                      Fastest lap: 1'25"752

Starting Grid Race 1: P16       Race 1: P10

Starting Grid Race 2: P3         Race 2: P6

Starting Grid Race 3: P16       Race 2: P14