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Hungary F3: Hauger beats Leclerc to win wet third race behind safety car

Championship leader Dennis Hauger took his third win of the season in FIA Formula 3 at the Hungaroring, conquering a wet race to lead a Prema 1-2.

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The Norwegian driver took the lead from team-mate Arthur Leclerc on lap nine, swooping past the Monegasque driver around the outside at turn three and allowing third-placed Jack Doohan to close the gap.

The field struggled with tyre wear as the circuit dried up, after two heavy downpours before the race left them to start behind the safety car, which came out twice during the 20-lap race.

Doohan finished in third for Trident, with team-mates David Schumacher and Clement Novalak finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.

Alexander Smolyar finished in sixth for ART Grand Prix, with team-mate Frederik Vesti in seventh and Prema Racing’s Olli Caldwell in eighth.

Enzo Fittipaldi finished in ninth place for Charouz Racing System, having made up eight places from the start, with team-mate Logan Sargeant in tenth, the last points position.

The formation lap generated a serious amount of spray, creating poor visibility for the whole pack, and although it had paused when the cars headed out on track, it soon resumed.

The cars had a rolling start, with Leclerc keeping the lead out of Turn 1, while Jack Doohan and David Schumacher battled for third in the damp conditions.

Victor Martins was out of the race after attempting to go up the inside of Oliver Rasmussen’s HWA Racelab on lap two, but misjudging the move, running wide and hitting the wall, damaging his front wing.

The incident, which is under investigation, prompted a full safety car, although the MP Motorsport driver managed to limp back to the pits, leaving him almost a lap down upon re-entry.

The action restarted on lap four, with Smoylar and Vesti both looking to make moves through the field from sixth and seventh respectively.

Arthur Leclerc and Dennis Hauger, both Prema Racing, behind the safety car

Arthur Leclerc and Dennis Hauger, both Prema Racing, behind the safety car

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Olli Caldwell was lucky to only clip the rear of Vesti after a fight with Ayumu Iwasa left him going wide, demoting him to ninth.

After Leclerc went wide on lap six, briefly touching a wetter part of the track, Hauger was able to close the gap on his team-mate and forcing him into defensive driving.

By the halfway mark, the sun had created a dry line on the track, forcing the drivers to attempt to cool their wet tyres and avoid serious degradation.

By lap 12, Leclerc had recaptured the fastest lap and was catching on Hauger, running three-quarters of a second quicker than the race leader.

Fittipaldi took tenth, the last points position, from team-mate Logan Sargeant on lap 14 as the pair ran close for several laps.

Matteo Nannini (HWA Racelab), who won Saturday’s second sprint race, pitted for slicks on lap 15 but suffered a slow stop after the front jack was dropped, leaving him at the back of the field.

Jonny Edgar was retired on lap 16 after suspected suspension damage for the Carlin driver.

Roman Stanek and Amaury Cordeel span off after contact, before moments later, after Ido Cohen and Villagomez (HWA Racelab) touched and span, with Laszlo Toth of Campos Racing then colliding with Cohen’s stricken Carlin car, prompting the safety car to return to the circuit - which led the field home across the line.

Hauger maintains his championship lead, with Doohan up to second place and Caldwell in third.

Formula 3 returns at Spa-Francorchamps from 27-29 August.

Hungary F3 race 3 results - 20 laps

Cla Driver Team Time Gap
1 Norway Dennis Hauger Italy Prema Powerteam -  
2 Arthur Leclerc Italy Prema Powerteam 1.300 1.300
3 Australia Jack Doohan Italy Trident 2.200 2.200
4 Germany David Schumacher Italy Trident 2.700 2.700
5 United Kingdom Clement Novalak Italy Trident 3.200 3.200
6 Russian Federation Alexander Smolyar France ART Grand Prix 3.400 3.400
7 Denmark Frederik Vesti France ART Grand Prix 3.600 3.600
8 United Kingdom Olli Caldwell Italy Prema Powerteam 4.900 4.900
9 Brazil Enzo Fittipaldi Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 5.200 5.200
10 United States Logan Sargeant Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 5.400 5.400
11 Italy Lorenzo Colombo Spain Campos Racing 5.900 5.900
12 Ayumu Iwasa United Kingdom HitechGP 6.200 6.200
13 United Kingdom Jake Hughes United Kingdom Carlin 8.000 8.000
14 United States Juan Manuel Correa France ART Grand Prix 8.200 8.200
15 Jak Crawford United Kingdom HitechGP 8.400 8.400
16 Caio Collet Netherlands MP Motorsport 9.200 9.200
17 Australia Calan Williams Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 10.000 10.000
18 United Kingdom Johnathan Hoggard Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 16.100 16.100
19 Tijmen van Netherlands MP Motorsport 18.700 18.700
20 Reshad de Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 27.000 27.000
21 Oliver Rasmussen Germany HWA AG 27.600 27.600
22 Filip Ugran Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 28.100 28.100
23 Rafael Villagómez Germany HWA AG 28.400 28.400
24 Czech Republic Roman Staněk United Kingdom HitechGP 29.000 29.000
25 Amaury Cordeel Spain Campos Racing 52.700 52.700
26 Italy Matteo Nannini Germany HWA AG 53.200 53.200
27 France Victor Martins Netherlands MP Motorsport 58.100 58.100
28 Ido Cohen United Kingdom Carlin 3 laps  
29 László Tóth Spain Campos Racing 3 laps  
30 United Kingdom Jonny Edgar United Kingdom Carlin 5 laps  

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