Dennis Hauger has made the move across the pond. He leaves Formula 2 to its equivalent in the US, Indy NXT. The 21-year-old hopes to prove himself and find a place in the NTT INDYCAR Series with his fellow former F2 racers.
Christian Lundgaard, Callum Ilott, Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman are the other former F2 drivers to make the jump to IndyCar. The switch has been growing in popularity among drivers who missed out on F1.
Unlike some of those before him, he is starting his American racing career in the junior series of Indy NXT. It is an incredibly competitive series. The championship winners often finding a seat in IndyCar. Louis Foster has made the step up for this year.
Immediately targeting the championship
Despite the competitiveness, the Norwegian’s aim is to win the championship in 2025, as he told Pit Debrief and other media outlets earlier this week. He was fastest in testing at Sebring with Andretti, laying down an early marker.
“My aim is to win the championship. There’s a high level, there’s a lot of new tracks. Ovals are going to be a new thing, so there are a lot of factors for me.
“I think the genuine pace we’ve had in testing and the work we’ve done with the team, with my engineer, has been great.
“Feeling comfortable with the car and getting up to speed every time we go out. I’m definitely not here to finish second. I’m here to do the job and work hard with the team to achieve what we want.”
Setting more specific goals for the season, Hauger mentioned bagging podiums or top 5 at every round.
“I’m aiming to be in the top 5 or top 3 every race. That’s going to be the goal.”
European vs American racing
For Dennis Hauger, the move Stateside goes beyond his predecessors. Hauger talked openly about his enjoyment growing up and watching the series as well as other American series such as NASCAR.
“I’ve been looking at Indy NXT and IndyCar for a long time. Growing up as a kid, I was watching Indy 500 and all those races. I was even watching NASCAR. I love that.”
He also discussed the different mindset and driving style in American racing in comparison to Europe.
“I love the mindset that goes on here compared to Europe. I think probably something in a similar direction for them. It’s definitely not easy to get to IndyCar straight away coming from Europe.”
With new talent from the Americas regularly looking to make the IndyCar grid, it is hard for European talent to prove themselves and find a seat. The Norwegian hopes that succeeding in Indy NXT will open the door for him in IndyCar.
“Doing what I’m doing now, trying to get a name, trying to prove myself and show the results over here. It’s a good thing. To do that in Indy NXT is a good opportunity for me. It’s a goal now to get to IndyCar.”
Turning down a good deal in Formula 2 to move to Indy NXT
Indy NXT wasn’t Dennis Hauger’s only option for 2025. He admitted that he had offers from Formula 2 teams for a fourth season in the series. 2022 saw him at Prema. He drove for MP Motorsport in 2023 and 2024, taking 5 wins across nearly three full seasons.
However, he felt another season was not worth it due to how many he already did. A championship would not have been as impressive after so many campaigns.
“I had good offers going into another season in F2 if I wanted to. There were opportunities there for me, with a pretty good deal.
“But for me, it didn’t really make sense to do another year, if I won that year it wouldn’t have been as impressive.”
This rings true with many F2 graduates. In the last three years of Formula 2, only one winner has made the jump to Formula 1, and that was largely in part due to winning in their rookie season. His name is Gabriel Bortoleto, of course.
Both Theo Pourchaire and Felipe Drugovich won in their third year in the series. They have been left without F1 seats despite winning. Hauger was right noting that in his fourth season, a championship title would appear ‘less impressive’.
Trying to work his way up to IndyCar
For Hauger, with the F1 dream now over, he felt the change to Indy NXT provided him the opportunity to progress and grow.
“Indy NXT felt like a really good option. It’s a good championship and it really gives you the opportunity to go further. That was the main thought behind it.”
By going to Indy NXT first and then hopefully making the move to IndyCar, he allows himself time to grow as a driver and adjust to the US.
“I think there are several good things about it. Getting used to the tracks, the environment with the teams, creating connections and just trying to create a name for myself in the States. I think that’s an important thing as well.
“But overall, it was a smart choice. We don’t have the opportunity to bring in budgets like that, for example, going into IndyCar, which some other drivers from Europe have been able to do.”
