‘Cool’ battles with Vesti pushing Hauger to ‘maximise everything’

Dennis Hauger and Frederik Vesti have enjoyed some enthralling battles of late, with the pair locking out the front row in Qualifying at both Le Castellet and Spielberg before going wheel-to-wheel in the races. And the Red Bull junior feels that his fights with the Mercedes protégé are pushing him to another level.

Since missing out on pole to the ART Grand Prix driver in Le Castellet, Hauger has gone on an incredible run of five podiums in a row, which includes three P2s and a victory, as well as P1 in Qualifying last time out.

It’s a run of form that has strengthened his stranglehold of the standings, with his advantage over Vesti up to 41 points, which the PREMA Racing driver feel that it’s the small gains that are making the biggest difference.

“There have been some good battles between (me and Vesti),” said Hauger. “At Paul Ricard in particular he was quite quick, and then in Austria we were super close in Qualifying – there was just a thousandth between us.

“It has been cool, and it means that I have really had to challenge myself to get that perfect lap and to put everything together. There are always things you can improve in your driving and on the car.

“The car has been really good so far this season, but you are always looking to find that extra bit here and there. When it comes down to the thousandths in Qualifying, that shows you that you have to maximise everything with the car and with yourself.”

Hauger was at the centre of a dramatic second race of the season in Barcelona as he and Matteo Nannini came together during a fight for the lead. The Norwegian dropped to the back of the field and finished in 25th – his only pointless finish of the season to date.

With six podiums and seven consecutive top 10 finishes since then, it’s an episode he feels has improved him in the long-term.

“Barcelona was a bit up and down with the crash in Race 2, but after that, I really learned my lesson and have kept it consistent and stable since.

“I think that, especially in Austria, this approach gained us a lot of points over our rivals. There is a long road ahead, but it’s been a good start.”