Hauger wins, Italian F4 title rivals falter in Red Bull Ring race two

Photo: ACI Sport

Dennis Hauger led home Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Niklas Krutten in the second Italian Formula 4 race at the Red Bull Ring, as Joshua Duerksen and Paul Aron went pointless.

Although they started eight positions apart – Krutten on pole and Hauger in ninth – they were separated by just one car after the first lap, which was interrupted by the safety car due to multiple drivers going off.

At the safety car restart, second placed Giorgio Carrara and his Jenzer Motorsport team-mate Jonny Edgar both went wide at Turn 1, promoting Hauger briefly to second. Jesse Salmenautio, who had started an impressive third for DRZ Benelli, was on the attack though and passed Hauger at Turn 3.

Hauger started setting fastest laps, even as it started to drizzle, and eventually moved up to second. Once there he closed on Krutten, passing him down the pit straight on the next lap.

In one lap he pulled away by almost a second, before Mucke Motorsport’s Duerksen and Erwin Zanotti spectacularly collided at the last corner and brought out the safety car. The rain increased during this time, leading to Nicola Marinangeli crashing out and extending the safety car period until the penultimate lap.

Hauger successfully fended off Krutten in the final lap shootout, with Salmenautio completing the podium. After hovering at the bottom of the points, R-ace GP’s Gregoire Saucy had a stunning final lap to capture fourth, ahead of William Alatalo (Mucke) and Ido Cohen (VAR).

Jenzer duo Edger and Carrara were seventh and eighth, followed by Gianluca Petecof. A post-race penalty meant he lost his race one points, and his championship lead over Hauger now stands at 10 points.

Sauber junior Roman Stanek started 21st and finished 12th, with Mercedes junior Paul Aron going the other way and falling from 12th to finish 23rd. He was also penalised for hitting Duerksen.

Race results (19 laps)