Defeated title contenders Timmy Hansen and Topi Heikkinen were gracious in defeat after losing out on the first TitansRX crown to Kevin Hansen.
Both drivers arrived in Germany trailing the Swede, who had an unbroken run of podium finishes throughout the year and ended the season with the joint most wins of any driver after claiming victory in the season finale.
For Timmy Hansen, who equalled his younger brother’s win haul, missing out on the first final of the season in France proved to be a key handicap in his title chase. He had to claim a record sixth win of the season to stand any chance of claiming overall season honours. Ultimately a mechanical issue left him not only out out victory contention, but off the podium altogether.
„I’m feeling super happy for Kevin of course but I’m also proud of my season,“ Timmy Hansen said after the season finale. „It was close coming here with three drivers able to win and me and Kevin were first and second so I’m proud of my brother.“
„I knew that me and Topi came down to who finished first and both of us had technical issues so none of us could go really far and we were in the back and having our own race and that was for the second spot in the series.“
„I definitely think that Kevin is a well-deserved winner,“ he added. „He was on the podium every single race, even though we’ve had many race weekends, we have two races each weekend and he’s still on the podium every time so he definitely deserves to hold that number one trophy.“
Looking at the overall picture of the season, Timmy Hansen came away from Germany pleased with how the season had gone. He was especially happy to see how the series developed, having been one of the first drivers to commit to the project in its early days.
„Overall this year I’m incredibly happy about what we have achieved, bringing this series from nothing up to this level where we are today,“ he said. „There’s been some incredible racing that we’ve never seen before and it’s happening again and again, race after race so the season has been magic.“
Heikkinen who also missed out on the podium in the final race of the season was equally gracious in defeat, although he rued the poor luck that cost him a good shot at the title – especially in round 12 where his car’s bonnet dislodged, momentarily blocking his view.
„Normally I’d feel disappointed but I’m happy for Kevin, he did a great job through the year,“ said the Finn. „I had a bit of bad luck in the final, I thought I could make it and fight with Kevin in the final but then the bonnet opened up and hit the windscreen. I was blind for a moment and I didn’t know where I was going.“
„I didn’t want to brake otherwise the [other] cars would hit my car. It was a little moment but that’s how it is, it’s part of the game.“
