For Paul Hokfelt Jr, the Pau French Formula 4 event started so promisingly but ended with him only completing three racing laps in the three races. He was eliminated early in both race one and three by contact at the Lycée hairpin, while a puncture in race two saw him retire in the pit lane.
In a complete opposite of the opening round in Le Mans where the Swiss driver messed up qualifying and had two brilliant races to storm through the field to take points, qualifying was the high point in Pau. He qualified third for race one and fourth for race three. Unfortunately race one would end too soon when Australian Joseph Mawson tried an ambitious move that resulted in Hokfelt Jr ending in the wall.
“I was fourth when we came into the Lycée hairpin,” said a frustrated Hokfelt Jr. “Mawson tried to pass me by braking far too late. He hit the driver in front of me and I ended up in the wall.”
Aussie Mawson was later disqualified from the results for the collision, but Hokfelt Jr was resigned to starting from the second-last row for race 2. He managed to do a lap before a puncture sent him into the pits and into retirement. For race three, Hokfelt Jr lined-up fourth on the grid, but again came to grief at the Lycée hairpin in a collision that was not his doing.
“A driver tagged my rear wheel and knocked me into a spin. It’s really disappointing to leave Pau without scoring any points as I was very quick.”
After proving himself in the races in Le Mans, and in qualifying in Pau, Hokfelt Jr will be hoping to have a strong weekend where things go right for him in both qualifying and the races when the series resumes in July at the Circuit du Val de Vienne.