Introduction
Pål Varhaug (born 26 January 1991 in Stavanger) is a professional racing driver from Norway.
Career
Karting
Varhaug began his motorsport career in karting back 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. 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, 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. 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 testing at Paul Ricard with the Italian Prema Powerteam, completing over one hundred laps in the process.
International Formula Master
For 2009, Varhaug moved up to the International Formula Master series, once again staying with Jenzer Motorsport. He finished in fifth place in the standings, and was the runner–up in the rookie classification behind Alexander Rossi. He achieved five podium places and a pole position at Brno.
GP3 Series
Varhaug graduated to the new GP3 Series with Jenzer Motorsport in 2010. After qualifying on the front row of the grid for the opening race of the season in Barcelona, Varhaug became the first–ever GP3 race winner, finishing ahead of both Robert Wickens and Esteban Gutiérrez. 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 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 for 2011, driving alongside Romain Grosjean in the DAMS team. He finished thirteenth in the Asia series, 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
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 | Jenzer Motorsport | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 232 | 2nd |
| Italian Formula Renault 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49th | ||
| Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 39th | ||
| 2008 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Jenzer Motorsport | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 14th |
| Italian Formula Renault 2.0 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 330 | 1st | ||
| 2009 | International Formula Master | Jenzer Motorsport | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 49 | 5th |
| 2010 | GP3 Series | Jenzer Motorsport | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 13th |
| 2011 | GP2 Series | DAMS | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd |
| GP2 Asia Series | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13th | ||
| 2012 | Auto GP World Series | Virtuosi UK | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 183 | 2nd |
| 2013 | GP2 Series | Hilmer Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31st |
| 2014 | GP3 Series | Jenzer Motorsport | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 17th |
| Auto GP | Virtuosi UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 15th | |
| 2015 | GP3 Series | Jenzer Motorsport | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 19th |
Complete GP3 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jenzer Motorsport | CAT FEA 1 |
CAT SPR Ret |
IST FEA 15 |
IST SPR 18 |
VAL FEA 11 |
VAL SPR 8 |
SIL FEA 14 |
SIL SPR 9 |
HOC FEA 12 |
HOC SPR Ret |
HUN FEA 17 |
HUN SPR 23 |
SPA FEA 15 |
SPA SPR 17 |
MNZ FEA 14 |
MNZ SPR 19 |
13th | 10 | ||
| 2014 | Jenzer Motorsport | CAT FEA 12 |
CAT SPR Ret |
RBR FEA 13 |
RBR SPR 9 |
SIL FEA 11 |
SIL SPR Ret |
HOC FEA 19 |
HOC SPR Ret |
HUN FEA 21 |
HUN SPR 14 |
SPA FEA 5 |
SPA SPR 8 |
MNZ FEA Ret |
MNZ SPR 11 |
SOC FEA 10 |
SOC SPR Ret |
YMC FEA 14 |
YMC SPR 9 |
17th | 12 |
| 2015 | Jenzer Motorsport | CAT FEA 21 |
CAT SPR 18 |
RBR FEA 11 |
RBR SPR Ret |
SIL FEA 16 |
SIL SPR 19 |
HUN FEA 9 |
HUN SPR 7 |
SPA FEA Ret |
SPA SPR 10 |
MNZ FEA Ret |
MNZ SPR 14 |
SOC FEA Ret |
SOC SPR 14 |
BHR FEA Ret |
BHR SPR Ret |
YMC FEA 11 |
YMC SPR 8 |
19th | 5 |
Complete GP2 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | DAMS | IST FEA 18 |
IST SPR 21 |
CAT FEA 15 |
CAT SPR 8 |
MON FEA Ret |
MON SPR 21 |
VAL FEA 13 |
VAL SPR 10 |
SIL FEA 16 |
SIL SPR 23 |
NÜR FEA Ret |
NÜR SPR 17 |
HUN FEA 13 |
HUN SPR Ret |
SPA FEA 13 |
SPA SPR 18 |
MNZ FEA 11 |
MNZ SPR 10 |
23rd | 0 | ||||
| 2013 | Hilmer Motorsport | SEP FEA 15 |
SEP SPR 19 |
BHR FEA Ret |
BHR SPR 21 |
CAT FEA |
CAT SPR |
MON FEA |
MON SPR |
SIL FEA |
SIL SPR |
HOC FEA |
HOC SPR |
HUN FEA |
HUN SPR |
SPA FEA |
SPA SPR |
MNZ FEA |
MNZ SPR |
MRN FEA |
MRN SPR |
YMC FEA |
YMC SPR |
31st | 0 |
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | DAMS | YMC FEA Ret |
YMC SPR 20 |
IMO FEA 14 |
IMO SPR 6 |
13th | 1 |
Complete Auto GP World Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Virtuosi UK | MNZ 1 2 |
MNZ 2 1 |
VAL 1 3 |
VAL 2 8 |
MAR 1 3 |
MAR 2 7 |
HUN 1 5 |
HUN 2 1 |
ALG 1 2 |
ALG 2 Ret |
CUR 1 2 |
CUR 2 5 |
SON 1 1 |
SON 2 5 |
2nd | 183 | ||
| 2014 | Virtuosi UK | MAR 1 |
MAR 2 |
LEC 1 |
LEC 2 |
HUN 1 |
HUN 2 |
MNZ 1 |
MNZ 2 |
IMO 1 4 |
IMO 2 3 |
RBR 1 |
RBR 2 |
NÜR 1 |
NÜR 2 |
EST 1 |
EST 2 |
15th | 24 |
- Season still in progress