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F2 driver Daruvala confident: 'I am favourite for the title'

F2 driver Daruvala confident: 'I am favourite for the title'

31-03-2023 19:17
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GPblog.com

Dennis Hauger is facing a historic moment, with the Norwegian starting the first-ever Formula 2 race in Australia from pole position. If Hauger wins Saturday's sprint race, he will be the fifth winner in five races. In addition, the Dutch team MP Motorsport would be the fifth team in as many races to take the winning trophy.

So many different winners, so many different teams. This shows that F2 is extremely competitive this season. Beforehand, Theo Pourchaire would be the main title contender, but there appear to be more challengers on the horizon. "The drivers and teams, obviously everyone's taking the steps, and yeah, many people are saying this is, you know, extremely competitive", Hauger tells GPblog. "As it should be in F2, but that doesn't really change too much for me. I mean I wouldn't say there's any particular favourites."

'It could be worse, it could be better'

His teammate Jehan Daruvala has also had a mixed season, but was able to finish second last time out in Saudi Arabia. "I think the first weekend was difficult for me, and the second one was a good comeback. So I would say it's been okay so far, it could be worse, but it could be better. I think Dennis had a better weekend than me overall in Bahrain, and I was stronger throughout the weekend in Jeddah."

In the standings, a lot of drivers are close together. "It's meant to be the most competitive grid in F2 history", Daruvala said to questions from GPblog. "So yeah, I expect there to be a lot of different winners throughout the season. So the favourite, I would say me, because I'm confident and believe in myself, and I don't see why I can't win the challenge."

'More consistent over the weekend'

Hauger also believes in himself and does not want to worry about the competition. "It's just about focusing on myself," says the Norwegian. "I'm 100% confident with me and the team, especially for the races, we are there to fight for the victories. We just get the weekend a bit more complete, but we've always been up there in the race pace going forward and if we can obviously get to qualifying a bit better, we should be up there."