Hauger unfazed by move to Champions PREMA Racing

PREMA Racing’s Dennis Hauger says he’s excited to be working for a team with such an illustrious racing history, insisting that he isn’t daunted by the pressure of competing for the reigning champions.

PREMA have won both the Teams and Drivers’ Championship two years on the trot in F3, dominating the first two seasons of the official second tier of the Road to F1. Hauger himself is a former Italian Formula 4 champion and a Red Bull junior, but he endured a “tough” debut in F3 with Hitech Grand prix who were title contenders in 2020 themselves.

Though he’s not been in the door at PREMA for long, Hauger says he can already see why they’re such a successful outfit.

“I have connected really well with them,” Hauger said. “They are working hard, and I can see that they are passionate about what they do, which I really love.

“PREMA have a really good history and I can see why, now that I am here. They work really hard and it’s really nice to be a part of. I cannot wait to get properly started and get out onto the track. Last season wasn’t the easiest for me, but I connected really well with PREMA at the test and I could see how we could work together and what we could do together this coming season.

“Driving for the Champions, I don’t really see it as pressure. At the end of the day, you’ve got a job to do. You have always got to improve, and you have always got to work with a team to be the best that you can be. I don’t think that’s pressure.”

Like PREMA, Hitech have strong history in junior formula, but for whatever reason things didn’t quite click between them and Hauger. The Norwegian feels he’s better off for the experience.

It wasn’t all bad either, as he clinched a podium at the Hungaroring with Hitech in Race 2 of Round 3.

“It was not what I wanted personally,” he continued. “I got some experience out of it and I have to use what I learned this season. It was not optimal, but I will use that and move on.

“On the wet, I really enjoyed myself and I think that showed with my podium in the wet at Budapest. Coming from F4 and going into F3 was obviously quite different. It required different techniques and different procedures. I was up against a lot of competitive drivers as well – the level is really high. I have to use all of that experience this season.

“Ultimately, you can always improve. I think I was always strong in the races, but I struggled more in Qualifying and need to improve in that area. That’s something that we are working on – we want to be as prepared as possible.