Dennis Hauger had a lot of influence in the first four races of the season, but after climbing three places at today’s dramatic Emilie-Romagne Grand Prix and moving up to 3rd place, the Aurskog boy ended up on the podium for the first time.

– That’s great with a podium spot, Hauger radioed to the team after the race.

– Doubles on the podium, worked well, said Hauger team-mate Jehan Daruvala after crossing the finish line to 2nd place.

But not without drama Hauger grabbed his first podium.

Because when the racer drove at the speed of a virtual safety car on the 11th lap, Dennis Hauger didn’t seem to follow the restart.

– What really happened there? Dennis is addicted to information nowadays. He has a lot to lose in this regard, said Viaplay expert commentator Henning Isdal after the situation.

– He’s lethargic

When team-mate Jehan Daruvala gave the gas at the right time, Hauger fell far behind – and when the time came, Hauger lost the full two seconds.

– Dennis is not included! He was just blunt and lost two seconds on it, Isdal said.

Just after the slow restart, TV images show the team manager at Prema Racing, driven by Hauger, engaged in busy communications.

It doesn’t stop there.

With only five rounds remaining, the TV image showed that the Hauger’s side cover had come off.

Parts of black carbon fly at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour. The father was thus present so Hauger could receive the black flag and be disqualified.

– Most likely, Dennis has been driving a little too hard on the pavement, says Viaplay commentator Guldbrandsen and refers to the elongated road markings that create vibrations in the car if you drive too far down the track.

Loose screws must have caused flare in the carbon parts. Luckily, nothing got off the car – and the black flag was kept inside by guards. With that, Hauger also secured his first podium in Formula 2 with third place.

TV pictures showed a Hauger cheering loudly in a Prema car crossing the finish line.

– It was exciting to start removing parts from Dennis Hauger’s car, but luckily the car came out of sixth starting position and took its first podium in Formula 2. Fantastic race of the 19-year-old racer, said Guldbrandsen.

In the end, 21-year-old Marcus Armstrong clinched the second win of his career ahead of Hauger’s team-mate Daruvala.

A good start lays the groundwork

Dennis Hauger, who races for Prema Racing, started well from sixth starting position. He was on grass heading into the Tamburello turn, but defended his position well and was aggressive against Roy Nissani.

– For a good start by Dennis! It’s amazing how smart he was when it came to retirement, but still managed to get past Roy Nissani, said Atle Guldbrandsen.

He rose a total of three places from the starting sixth position.

After a busy few seconds with a cannon start from the Hauger, the safety car had to come out onto the track after David Beckmann Charouz in Racing System turned after contact with Clément Novalak.

Jehan Daruvala, who was second ahead of Hauger, suffered a poor restart as the safety car entered and spun out of the corner towards the start and finish on the long side.

Hauger was side by side with his teammates, but once again used his head when he realized that the gap to the first turn was too small.

After a turbulent start to the season with engine problems in Bahrain and after receiving the wrong message from the team after taking the lead in Jeddah, Dennis Hauger secured his first Formula 2 points in the fourth race of the season in Saudi Arabia.

With third place today, Hauger climbs to 10th place in summary in Formula 2.

Tomorrow, the final and most scored race awaits Imola. This is where Hauger started from the fifth starting position.