Junior Formula Series
Juniors take Melbourne F2 double and points lead
The Feature Race, just I would say it was an amazing day because DAMS got 1-3 on the Podium
Melbourne was a Red Bull Junior event with the guys showing wonderful skill, grit and determination around Albert Park. Dennis Hauger took the F2 Sprint victory ahead of Jak Crawford, Ayumu Iwasa then superbly won the Feature from Pole to claim the championship points lead after Sebastian Montoya had grabbed a first-class F3 2nd place on Saturday.
Ayumu Iwasa the man of the meeting with Pole and Feature excellence
“I think that we were quite good this weekend.” stated the 21-year-old Japanese modestly. “Even from Friday's Free Practice, we had quite good initial pace.”
So I was feeling that the car had potential in dry conditions.
“Unfortunately the Quali was wet. But as we saw I was able to do the pole position so for sure the car was amazing. And also our strategy in Quali was very good, pitting a bit earlier than other cars and going out a bit earlier and doing more laps. I had the confidence to use that good car potential. So I was very happy about the wet performance as well.”
“Saturday's Sprint Race was quite unlucky, I had a good start and then I was trying to overtake some cars, I had a very good exit speed on T8, I ran next to Zane I think but I guess Zane couldn't see me so much and on the straight after T10, he turned the steering a bit and we hit so I got a puncture.”
Ayumu Iwasa racing Formula 2 - Stop 3 in Melbourne 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
“So that was very unlucky for me… but I could finish the race after a tyre change. There was a Safety Car and so I was able to see the good pace when I was driving alone. So honestly that made it a very positive session for the Feature Race.”
The Feature Race, just I would say it was an amazing day because DAMS got 1-3 on the Podium, which is so good as a team.
“I think that we are quite strong in terms of race pace and tyre management.”
“The team made a really good strategy, also the pit stop was very good for me under the Safety Car. Because if we made any mistake in the Pit Stop during the Safety Car I could lose a lot of positions but we didn't. It was a really nice job from the team.”
“I think we improved quite a lot since Bahrain and Jeddah because at those events we were missing a bit of performance from the car side I think.”
“We have improved but still we are not thinking that we are P1. We still have to improve, we try to do our best and for sure we will continue to improve through to the end of the season.”
Dennis Hauger wins the Sprint and robbed in the Feature
“Overall in the Qualifying, we were good in Run 1 but in Run 2 we got some traffic,” explained the Norwegian 20-year-old. “I did a mistake and then we were on for a good lap but the Red Flag came out. Some people were lucky to have the clean air ahead with positioning and that cost us an easy Top 5.”
“In the Sprint Race we did a good job, had great pace and the weather was tricky but we managed well in the end even though it wasn't easy, leading with the track changing all the time.”
Dennis Hauger on the podium of F2 in Melbourne 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
“We had a very strong Feature, caught up P2 and P1 from starting P10. But got hit from the back before even crossing the line on the Safety Car restart. It was a mistake from another driver which cost us some very valuable points.”
“Once again we can't finish the Feature Race due to something outside our control. But the pace we are showing is very good!”
And if we fix Quali a bit we are 100% sure to fight for the win.
“Unlucky and we could have been up in the championship now, top 3. But we’ll keep pushing. We know we are the fastest in the race so we just got to keep on going.”
Jak Crawford with major improvement and podium points
“It was a really positive weekend for us as a whole, we showed great speed right out of the box in wet conditions,” Enthused the 17-year-old American. “We had made a lot of changes from Jeddah and we were on the pace right from Free Practice.”
“In Qualifying in the wet, I had a crash on the out lap but managed to get away without any damage but a front wing change. First time driving an F2 car in the wet and it was a lot of fun. I was near the top three but couldn't get a second run because of traffic and a Red Flag. So that was very unlucky and the pace potential in the wet was not fully exploited.”
Jak Crawford - Pitstop Melbourne 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
“Race 1, mixed conditions, very tricky, I was quite nervous because when you are starting at the front you never want to have conditions which are hard to manage but I did manage that very well and had very good speed at the start of the race. I was able to attack for the lead but just wasn't able to get it.”
“After that it was just a boring race for me, just sitting behind in the DRS and eventually falling back but keeping P2.”
A good result, our first points of the season which is hard to believe.
“For the Feature Race, we were starting on Prime, the medium compound, the pace seemed OK on the first lap but then I got involved in an incident, not my fault and it put me out of the race which was a real shame.”
“I really would have liked to have seen where we could have got to. Guys I was battling around finished in the top 5. Still, I was very pleased all round, I feel like we made a massive improvement.”
Zane Maloney takes a strong step forward
“In general, Australia was a really cool weekend,” stated the Barbadian 19-year-old. “A lot of chaos and it was really about staying out of trouble but I’m happy to get two top 5 finishes and ready to work hard for Baku.”
I was able to put together a better Qualifying, having a better approach towards the weekend.
Zane Maloney racing F2 in the wet - Australian GP 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
“We still need to continue to be proactive in every situation throughout the weekend but it was a good step forward from Jeddah. The car felt great.”
Isack Hadjar a very positive weekend ended with penalty frustration
“Overall, there are so much positive about that weekend,” said the 18-year-old Frenchman. “We managed to fix the pace on the short run and it paid off in Qualifying with a 4th place, even if I felt we had the potential for Pole.”
Isack Hadjar is getting ready to race F2 in Melbourne 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
“The Sprint race went pretty smooth, not the ideal balance the whole race, also with changing conditions all the time but I made no mistake and went from 10th to 6th. So, we knew we had what it takes to fight on Sunday.”
“Then the Feature Race was so disappointing.”
Could have had a better start and jump both ART cars but didn’t manage to do so.
“Then I really felt faster the whole stint on the Softs, with the Fastest Lap too. From there it was just bad luck all the way to the end. SC at the wrong moment for me, when I felt I could have gone long on the Softs, had contact in the pits which caused damage but still was on for an easy 3rd place, until Nissany ruined the race… just took me out for no reason.”
“Still I kept my head down and finished 8th on track but got a penalty for no understandable reason…”
“Happy because the pace is more than back but really frustrating not to score big points with that.”
Enzo Fittipaldi to forget the weekend and move on
“So, a frustrating race weekend is over in Melbourne,” stated the 21-year-old Brazilian bluntly. “We had the pace to be up there, Free Practice was really good, we were very fast, in Qualifying as well. Unfortunately, I got caught out by the Red Flags.”
Enzo Fittipaldi racing the Australian GP 2023
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
The races as well, they were not good, I had DNF in both of them.
“So now the focus is on Baku, bouncing back and preparing as much as possible for the next race weekend and full focus on that and getting good results there.”
Australian Grand Prix F2 Melbourne
Rank
Person
Team
Time
2
T. Pourchaire
ART
+0.614s
3
V. Martins
ART
+0.618s
Formula 1 YouTube Channel - F2 Replays
- F2 Feature Race Highlights | 2023 Australian Grand Prix
- F2 Sprint Race Highlights | 2023 Australian Grand Prix
Next Round Baku April 29/30
