Pål Varhaug (born 26 January 1991 in Stavanger) is a professional racing driver from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Career

Karting

Varhaug began his motorsport career in karting in 2005, finishing fifth in the Norwegian Championship ICA Junior category. He also finished fourth in the Viking Trophy ICA Junior class. The following year he won the Norwegian Championship ICA Junior title.

Formula Renault 2.0

Varhaug moved up to single–seaters in 2007, competing in the Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 championship for

Jenzer Motorsport Jenzer Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Switzerland. Founded in 1993 by Andreas Jenzer the team is currently competing in FIA Formula 3, Italian F4 and F4 Spanish and has had a number of drivers who would turn out to be successful in ...

. Over the course of the season he took seven podium places, including four race wins, to finish as runner-up in the championship. He also took part in selected races in both the Italian Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championships. Varhaug continued with Jenzer Motorsport in the category for

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, racing full seasons in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Italian Formula Renault 2.0 series. He finished fifteenth in the Eurocup standings, with his best race result being a fifth place in the second event at

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

. In the Italian series, he finished in the points in all fourteen races and took three races wins to comfortably win the title. At the end of the season, Varhaug took part in

Formula Renault 3.5 Series The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...

testing at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

with the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Prema Powerteam Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainly ...

, completing over one hundred laps in the process.

International Formula Master

For 2009, Varhaug moved up to the

International Formula Master International Formula Master, also known as Formula Super 2000, was a European-based junior single seater formula. The series was conceived as a competitor for Formula Three and made its debut at Valencia in 2007. European television channel Euros ...

series, once again staying with Jenzer Motorsport. He finished in fifth place in the standings, and was the runner–up in the

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

classification behind

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...

. He achieved five podium places and a pole position at Brno.

GP3 Series

Varhaug graduated to the new

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and th ...

with Jenzer Motorsport in 2010. After qualifying on the front row of the grid for the opening race of the season in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Varhaug became the first–ever GP3 race winner, finishing ahead of both

Robert Wickens Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 ...

and

Esteban Gutiérrez Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (; born 5 August 1991) is a Mexican racing driver currently representing Mercedes in Formula One, Formula E and esports and Inter Europol Competition in World Endurance Championship. Previously from 2013 ...

. He failed to score another point after his win and eventually finished 13th in the standings. Varhaug originally finished in third place in the feature race at Spa–Francorchamps, but was later demoted to 15th after overtaking the safety car. He also posted the

fastest lap In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some racing series, like Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula E award championship points for a driver or team that set the fastest lap. In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point ...

in the final race of the season in Monza, but was not rewarded with a championship point because he failed to finish inside the race's top ten positions.

GP2 Series

Varhaug graduated to the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

for 2011, driving alongside

Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional Auto racing, racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously ...

in the

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

team. He finished thirteenth in the

Asia series The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four of the professional leagues that are associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — Australian Baseball League (ABL), ...

, which along his team-mate's overall victory, allowed DAMS to win the teams' championship. Whilst Grosjean also won the main series championship, Varhuag did not score any points and was classified 23rd overall.

Auto GP World Series

After losing his GP2 drive at DAMS, Varhaug moved to the Auto GP World Series with the Virtuosi UK team.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete GP3 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Auto GP World Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varhaug, Pal 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Stavanger Norwegian racing drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Formula Renault 2.0 Alps drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers International Formula Master drivers GP3 Series drivers GP2 Asia Series drivers GP2 Series drivers Auto GP drivers Jenzer Motorsport drivers DAMS drivers Virtuosi Racing drivers Hilmer Motorsport drivers