For the second FIA Formula 2 round, the Dutch team MP Motorsport travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The previous weekend in Bahrain was decent for the team, but it could be better. A total of 14 points were scored in the brand-new Formula 2 cars. The team showed good pace, and in Jeddah, this became clearer as the team went home with a win and a P3 result.
The weekend started well when Dennis Hauger set the fastest time during the only Practice Session. Rookie and Williams Academy Driver Franco Colapinto finished the session in P12. Several hours later during the Qualifying session, the drivers finished in seventh and P13.
The Sprint Race on Friday saw a tough start for Franco, as he stalled on the grid and had to be brought back to the pitlane, where his engine was restarted. Due to an early Safety Car in the opening lap, damage was minimized as he joined the pack in the back during the restart. Martins stopped on track after contact, for which Dennis was under investigation, but was cleared a few laps later. Both Franco and Dennis made up several positions during the race, and with 4 laps left, Dennis was driving in third. Two laps later, Dennis was driving in the second position where he also finished. Due to post-race penalties, Verschoor was disqualified and Dennis was promoted to P1. Franco finished outside the points in P11.
Due to Ollie Bearman replacing Carlos Sainz in Ferrari, all drivers were moved up a spot for the Feature Race on Saturday. Franco and Dennis started on the supersoft tyres. While Marti spun in front of Franco, he caught damage on his front wing and lost one of the endplates. Despite this, he was still showing good pace and overtakes. After 7 laps Dennis came in for a pit stop, one lap later Franco did the same. The entire race showed many overtakes and exciting battles on track, Franco overtook Martins for P11. Shortly after this, Franco tapped the wall with his rear tyre on the final turn, which turned into a puncture and he spun into the first turn.
Dennis was slowly but consistently moving up positions, fighting Antonelli for the fifth position with just 2 laps left. He quickly closed the gap to Crawford in fourth, and on the final metres of the track he did a double overtake on Crawford and Cordeel to pick up the third position while the chequered flag waved.
Quote Dennis Hauger:
"It was difficult to advance, I felt that I had a little more speed than the 2-3 cars in front of me. I realised early on that it was important to be patient, there was a lot of pushing in the field. The last lap was cool, I never thought I would be so happy with a 3rd place!"
The team now stands in third with 39 points, in the Drivers' Championship Dennis sits in third as well with 31 points. Franco has scored 8 points and sits currently in P12. The team has a weekend off now and will move to Melbourne in the weekend of 22-24 March.