Noel Leon charged to his maiden Formula 2 Feature Race victory with a stunning drive at the Hungarian GP.
Kush Maini started the race on pole position, joined on the front row by Rafa Camara. With championship leader Nikola Tsolov starting 12th due to a grid penalty, it delivered a prime opportunity for Camara to make up for the gap.
While the drivers started their formation lap, Roman Bilinski was hit with bad luck as he stalled on the grid. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver had to be pushed to the pit lane by his team. Fortunately, the team were able to fix the issue, and Bilinski was able to start the race.
Early action and pit stops
After a brief delay, the F2 grid lined up on the grid for 37 laps of the Hungaroring.
Both Maini and Camara had a solid launch off the line and made their way into Turn 1. However, Noel Leon was quick to move past the Invicta driver to take second. Further back, Nico Varrone climbed up six positions from 16th into a position to fight for points in 10th.
Lap 1 brought on early action as John Bennett went into the side of Martinius Stenshorne after Tsolov attempted a move around the outside of the Rodin in Turn 4.
Then, Lap 7 saw the first tyre change as Bilinski was called to pit and changed onto the medium tyres.
Meanwhile, Tsolov made a bold move on Varrone to take 10th and continued to climb through the pack. Shortly after, Varrone tumbled down the timings as he made his way into the pits.
The first two pit stops set off a domino effect as more drivers decided to pit early, with Sebastian Montoya, Colton Herta, and Cian Shields taking to the pits for a tyre change. All of them opted for medium tyres.
VSC and retirements
Up front, Maini managed to pull further away from the pack as he had created a 4.6-second gap to Leon behind by Lap 11.
While Gabriele Mini looked to be chased down by Tsolov on Lap 14, the two championship contenders did not get to fight for P8 as Mini took to the pits.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made a move around Duerksen on Lap 14, showing that the medium tyres had begun to kick in. Two laps later, the top ten started to pit for mediums as the soft tyres began to show more degradation. With Leon going to pit, Camara in third went for the opposite move and decided to wait.
The Virtual Safety Car was out as Rafael Villagomez came to a stop on track and became the first retirement of the Feature Race.
Meanwhile, Herta was hit with a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Leon fights his way up
Camara went in for his pit stop on Lap 21 as the battles on track heated up.
Further down the field, Leon fought his way through the pack to climb back into the front with an overtake on Ollie Goethe and Emmerson Fittipaldi. The Campos team’s decision to pit when they did came into play as he continued to make up positions smoothly.
As Maini pit after Leon, the pole sitter ended up behind Goethe but ahead of Camara after his pit stop. While the Alpine Academy driver was under pressure from the Invicta behind.
Wheel-to-wheel action
A five-way fight heated up on Lap 24 as Fittipaldi, Maini, Camara, Goethe, and Van Hoepen got their elbows out to get ahead. Even with alternative strategies and no pit stop made, the drivers refused to get out of the way easily. Maini and Camara came out on top while Van Hoepen got past Goethe for another position, while Duerksen also flew past the Red Bull driver.
Dino Beganovic and Mini went wheel to wheel on Lap 27, and with 10 laps to go, both were eager to push further into the top positions. After Beganovic got past, the pressure was on once again as Tsolov was lurking behind Mini. The two championship contenders were once again scuffling as Mini refused to make it an easy fight.
Using the DRS, Mini was able to defend himself for another lap, forcing Tsolov to be patient for longer. As Mini’s tyres were flailing away, the driver slid wide, and the Bulgarian was able to complete the overtake.
While the action on track continued, the pit lane saw Maini noted for an infringement. The ART driver is to be investigated after the race.
By Lap 31, Alex Dunne finally went to pit, and had a big lock-up while doing so. With Dunne out of the way, Leon took the lead of the race, with Maini 1.1 seconds behind, and Camara closing in on second.
Last deciding moments
Barely two seconds separated the top three drivers on Lap 34. The tight battle between the frontrunners continued to narrow even further.
Further down the top ten, Beganovic went down the outside of Duerksen to take P6. The Invicta driver’s fight with Beganovic opened up the door for Tsolov to make a move and make his way through.
The final sector offered no help to Camara, as it leaves little opportunity for overtakes. Despite the gap to Maini being under four tenths, the Invicta driver could not make a move.
Leon crossed the chequered flag first to take his maiden F2 Feature Race victory after a beautiful drive. Behind him were Maini and Camara. Van Hoepen and Inthraphuvasak made up the top five positions. Next up were Beganovic and championship leader Tsolov. Behind them were Duerksen and Mini before Bennett and Dunne rounded out the top ten.
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