From Scandinavia to IndyCar: The Rise of Dennis Hauger

Dennis Hauger has been announced as a full-time driver for Dale Coyne Racing for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season, graduating from Indy NXT where he secured six victories en route to a dominant championship campaign.

Born in Oslo, Norway, Hauger began karting at the age of 5 where he quickly found success. He managed to finish 62 out 70 races on the podium in national events between 2011-2013, before moving into international karting in 2014. It was time Hauger tested himself against the best young drivers in the world.

Hauger had built a strong reputation by winning several smaller championships, with the 2016 and 2017 seasons being decisive. In 2016 he stepped up to the OK Junior category within the FIA European Karting Championship, finishing fourth against a highly competitive grid. With Hauger going up against the likes of Victor Martins, who finished third, and Caio Collet, one of Hauger’s Indy NXT rivals this year. McLaren Formula One driver Oscar Piastri only finished 16th that year, with future Formula Two champion Theo Pourchaire behind in 17th, making it a strong year for Hauger.

This led to the decision to step up to the OK category the following year. The Norwegian went onto finish seventh, finishing just ahead of Theo Pourchaire. In September of that year he was announced as a new member of Red Bull’s Formula One junior programme, setting the stage for his single seater debut.

Making his British F4 debut in April 2018 at Brands Hatch, impressing early after finishing third in his first race. He went onto finish fourth in the standings that year, while a strong result on paper, it was a relatively modest field that year. The championship went to newly crowned British GT champion Kiern Jewiss, and with the Red Bull backing Hauger wasn’t able mount a title fight resulting in a somewhat disappointing year. However, he did finish ahead of future F1 driver Jack Doohan.

The following year was when Hauger’s career started to gain some real momentum. Opting for a dual ADAC and Italian F4 campaign, two of the toughest junior championships in the world, would make it a make or break year for the Norwegian. Hauger went on to shatter expectations winning Italian F4 and finishing second in ADAC F4. Despite a difficult start to the year in Italian F4, Hauger went on to claim 12 wins from 20 races, with an impressive 136 point gap over former F2 driver Gianluca Petecof. The grid also included other notable drivers such as Paul Aron and Roman Stanek. Such a dominant season would’ve likely impressed Red Bull management.

The ADAC F4 grid that year contained more notable drivers than Italian F4, despite this Hauger managed to finish in second place just seven points off the title, losing out to Theo Pourchaire. Another impressive season taking home five wins, three more than champion Pourchaire, finishing ahead of the likes of Arthur Leclerc, Roman Stanek and Paul Aron in the standings. With an impressive F4 record over two years, Hauger stepped up to FIA Formula 3 in 2020, racing with Hitech GP.

It was a very difficult rookie season in FIA Formula 3 for the Norwegian, finishing 17th in the standings. Hauger managed only two points finishes, including a podium finish in race two at the Hungaroring. Comparing against teammates is one of the best ways to determine a drivers results in junior categories. His only full season teammate that year and fellow Red Bull academy member, Liam Lawson, finished 5th in the standings despite three retirements throughout the season. Suggesting that the Hitech car was capable of more than what Hauger was able to extract from it. Despite this Hauger was able to keep the Red Bull support for the 2021 season. Remaining in F3, but moving to reigning teams champions and current Indycar team, Prema Racing.

Hauger’s Prema teammates that year were Arthur Leclerc and Ollie Caldwell. Caldwell and Leclerc finished eighth and tenth respectively in the standings, whereas Hauger was able to win the championship. In this time period, Prema were the team to beat in FIA Formula 3 and despite poor results from his teammates, Hauger was able to become the champion taking four wins across the season. He finished 26 points ahead of Jack Doohan in second. After this impressive season Hauger earned a promotion to FIA Formula 2, remaining with Prema Racing.

The expectations were high for the rookie, being reigning F3 champion and after joining one of the best teams within the championship. However, it was a lacklustre campaign for Hauger, finishing tenth in the standings. He took two wins in his Prema car, with one sprint and one feature win. His teammate Jehan Daruvala finished seventh. Hauger showed flashes of pace, but ultimately lacked consistency across the season, having multiple runs of non points finishes. He also finished behind several other Red Bull junior members.

Hauger committed to a second season of F2, trying to live up to the expectations of him as he continued to pursue a Formula One career. He moved to MP Motorsport for the 2023 season, who had won the drivers championship the previous year with Felipe Drugovich.

His teammate was once again Jehan Daruvala. Despite having a championship winning car again, Hauger only managed to finish eighth, taking two wins once again. Teammate Daruvala finished twelfth as he was replaced by Franco Colapinto for the last round in Abu Dhabi. Hauger once again failed to meet expectations, and finished behind fellow Red Bull juniors, namely Ayuma Iwasa who finished fourth. After two disappointing years following his championship year in F3, Hauger was let go by the Red Bull academy even after being an official reserve driver that year. Despite this Hauger opted for a third year in Formula 2 remaining with MP Motorsport.

Spending three plus years in a junior category like Formula Two is often looked down upon, meaning Hauger really needed a good result in 2024. After success in F4 and F3, Hauger’s F2 journey would end with his weakest result yet, finishing eleventh in his final year and taking a single victory. Hauger decided to miss the final round in Abu Dhabi after another frustrating year. Franco Colapinto was his teammate for the majority of year, the Argentinian finished ninth in the standings despite missing the final four rounds after receiving an F1 call up from Williams.

While Hauger’s rise through the European junior ranks included two major titles, his inability to contend for the Formula 2 championship over three seasons, combined with being outperformed by fellow Red Bull juniors, marked a somewhat anticlimactic end to his time in Europe.

After leaving F2 early at the end of 2024, Hauger was left with a significant decision on where he wanted to take his career next. His Formula One hopes were fading now, with a role like a reserve driver the only thing the Norwegian could maybe expect. Many drivers in a similar position who have left single seaters turned to endurance racing, Hauger even made some appearances in Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia. Still, his ambition to remain in single seater led him to look towards the Indycar series, something that many drivers leaving European single seaters have looked at recently. This marked a significant turning point in his career, as he looked to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Callum Illot and Marcus Armstrong. The Norwegian opted for a year in Indycar’s support series, Indy NXT. A year to prove himself, learn and make sure he was ready to graduate into Indycar the following year. Subsequently, Hauger signed with Andretti Global to drive in the 2025 Indy NXT season.

Hauger arrived in Indy NXT with a clear a goal: to dominate and win the championship, and he delivered. Hauger was dominant throughout on his way to becoming the 2025 Indy NXT champion and Rookie of the Year, taking six wins across the fourteen races. It was clear from the offset that Hauger was ‘overqualified’ for Indy NXT and that after winning the championship a promotion to Indycar was a must for 2026. After Will Power was announced as Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood’s teammate for 2026 it was clear there was no seat within Andretti for Hauger.

An announcement was then made that Hauger would be driving for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2026 NTT Indycar series season, combined with this news was that Coyne and Andretti had formed a technical partnership. After Veekay impressed for Coyne last year, and now having the ability to work with the Andretti team, Hauger should have all the tools to have an impressive rookie season with Coyne. The Norwegian should look to emulate what Armstrong and Illot have done, as both are now very highly regarded within the Indycar paddock.

Hauger took part in his first test with Coyne at Mid Ohio on October 1st. Despite an early off, Hauger said his first Indycar test had ‘a lot of positives’, having time to build the learning processes. He will have lots to learn including a new tire model and working through setup options, something the Andretti partnership should help with. Hauger is due to test for Coyne again on October 13th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he looks to further his preparations for his debut Indycar season. His teammate for 2026 is yet to be announced.

If Hauger can adapt quickly and showcase the form he displayed in Indy NXT, this could spark the beginning of a very successful career in Indycar for the Norwegian.

written by Michael Williams / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment