Australian Grand Prix F2 – Sprint Race: Hauger from start to finish, Hadjar 6th
The first race in history, for F2 at Albert Park, provided a lot of spectacle. Dennis Hauger resisted throughout the race against Jack Crawford, while Victor Martins and Théo Pourchaire didn't score any points after an unnecessary pit stop.
On a still wet track and even before the start of this sprint race, two incidents occurred. Enzo Fittilpadi, during his out lap from the pits, crashed his Carlin into turn 7 following a major oversteer, and the Championship leader, Ralph Boschung, couldn’t start the race as he spun out at the same spot.
Good start from Hauger, Iwasa punctures
At the start, poleman Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) launches well and is able to hold onto first place ahead of Jack Crawford (HitechGP).
The good operation is for the Frenchman Victor Martins (Art GP), starting 7th and tenderly, who gains two positions, and is now in 5th place at the start of the second lap. On the contrary, his teammate Théo Pourchaire, who started on the fourth row, loses three positions and finds himself in 11th place, behind Frederik Vesti (Prema), Isack Hadjar (Hitech GP), and Ayumu Iwasa (DAMS). The latter, who was 8th on the second lap, experiences a puncture and has to go back to the pits.
Battles on all levels
After one third of the race, apart from Iwasa isolated in last position, the other 19 drivers are within ten seconds of each other. At the same time, the race officials finally authorize the DRS, and Leclerc takes immediate advantage to pass Maini at turn 9, before the Indian driver retaliates and regains his third place two turns later.
A battle that allows the two men in the lead, Hauger and Crawford, to escape with a small cushion of 2.5 seconds ahead.
At the halfway point, the risks of rain increase, and the teams prepare the rain tires in anticipation of showers in the last laps of the race.
Three laps later, Maloney takes fifth place from Martins, with a splendid outside attack through the fast left-right turns 9 and 10. The Frenchman tries to retaliate while defending against Bearman. Maneuvers that allow Hadjar and Vesti to catch up, to the point where both surpass the British driver.
T H R E E ↔️ W I D E@zane_maloney pulled off an audacious move for fifth, and left everyone behind to fight amongst themselves ⚔️#AusGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/dKInckeHn6
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 1, 2023
A long race interruption
Fourteenth lap of the race, and the local hero, Jack Doohan, currently defending his distant 13th position against Roman Stanek, gets hit by Juan Manuel Correa in the first sector. The Australian spins out and stalls on the track, prompting the intervention of the safety car.
At this moment, rain is forecasted and three drivers rush into the pit lane to switch to rain tires: Pourchaire comes out in 15th place ahead of Stanek who misses the first turn, while Correa, with brand new slick tires, spins out in a 360-degree at turn 3 due to a few drops on the track.
A few laps later, other drivers, including Martins, also take the gamble of rain tires. Four laps before the checkered flag, the safety car is about to withdraw, but Brad Benavides goes straight in the second-to-last corner and crashes his PHM Racing single-seater into the wall, extending the race interruption by two laps.
5 races / 5 different winners
Two laps from the finish line, the green flag is waved, and without the rain ever really falling, Dennis Hauger emerges victorious ahead of Jack Crawford, securing a one-two finish for the Red Bull Junior Team, with Kush Maini claiming the third step of the podium.
Arthur Leclerc finishes 4th ahead of Zane Maloney and Isack Hadjar; Prema drivers Oliver Bearman and Frederik Vesti complete the top 8 and secure the last points awarded.
