Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak held his nerve to convert pole position into victory in a dramatic and incident-filled Formula 3 Sprint Race at the Hungaroring.
The Thai driver faced intense pressure throughout, particularly from Ugo Ugochukwu in the closing stages, but managed to stay composed and lead every lap on his way to a hard-fought win – his second of the season.
Ugochukwu took another podium finish in second and Charlie Wurz completed the top three for Trident, also taking back-to-back Sprint Race podiums.
Inthraphuvasak started alongside James Hedley on the front row with championship leader Rafael Camara down in 12th place after his super pole lap on Friday.
The Brazilian was not in a position to take the title on Saturday, but could further strengthen his chances with a good result in the Sprint with his nearest rivals starting way down the order.
Tim Tramnitz went from 17th place and Nikola Tsolove started the race all the way down in 21st place.
Inthraphuvasak leads amid chaotic opening lap
At lights out, Inthraphuvasak made a strong start, moving across to defend from Hedley and retain the lead into Turn 1.
In the middle sector, however, the Thai driver made a small mistake, giving Hedley an opportunity to challenge.
Inthraphuvasak quickly shut the door, which allowed James Wharton, starting third on the grid, to draw alongside Hedley for several corners.
The AIX Racing driver managed to hold position, while behind them, Alessandro Giusti crashed heavily into the wall with front-left suspension damage on his MP Motorsport car just before Turn 13.
Further chaos unfolded down the order, prompting the deployment of the Safety Car on Lap 2 to recover the stricken vehicles.
Into Turn 6, Ivan Domingues attempted an ambitious move around the outside of Laurens van Hoepen.
The gap disappeared rapidly, leading to contact between the two. Both ran through the gravel trap and were forced to pit for front wing repairs.
Replays later revealed that Giusti had damaged his front-left tyre while battling Ugo Ugochukwu for sixth. The contact with the side of the Prema car broke his suspension, sending him into the wall moments later.
The Safety Car returned to the pits at the end of Lap 4, with the track cleared and Inthraphuvasak still leading the field.
Hedley remained in second, with Wharton in third. Brando Badoer followed in fourth ahead of Ugochukwu, Charlie Wurz, Theophile Nael, Mari Boya, Gerrard Xie, and Tuukka Taponen rounding out the top 10 in the early stages.
Midfield battles and Ugochukwu’s charge towards the front
Camara gained one place up to 11th amid the opening-lap chaos. Tramnitz ran 15th, while Tsolov had only climbed to 19th by that point in the Sprint.
Noel Leon was inside the top 10 on Lap 4 but ran wide at Turn 6 while battling Xie, dropping to 13th in the process.
Camara lost a position to Brad Benavides on Lap 6, dropping to 12th. However, Benavides was soon forced to hand the place back after completing the overtake illegally.
In the process, he also lost another position as Leon capitalised, having already passed the championship leader before Benavides allowed Camara back through.
One lap later, Ugochukwu executed a well-timed switchback at Turn 1 to snatch third place from Wharton.
By Lap 11, Leen had climbed into the points, first overtaking Taponen for 10th before sweeping past Xie into Turn 1 to claim ninth.
Just behind, Camara launched an aggressive move on Taponen at the same corner. The pair came perilously close to contact but emerged from Turn 1 unscathed.
A lap later, Camara completed his charge into the top 10 by overtaking a struggling Xie, just as Ugochukwu swept past Hedley and began his pursuit of the race lead.
By Lap 14, the American had closed the gap to Inthraphuvasak and entered DRS range of the Campos driver.
Meanwhile, Wurz moved past Badoer for fifth, then overtook Wharton a lap later to take fourth and set his sights on the podium by targeting Hedley.
Leon brings out the Safety car as Inthraphuvasak holds on for victory
Further back, Leon launched an attack on Nael for eighth place into Turn 4. As the Mexican edged ahead, Nael refused to yield.
The two ran wide, making contact off-track, and Leon was left stranded on the side of the circuit, bringing his race to an early end. Nael continued on in ninth.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 15, giving Inthraphuvasak and Hedley a brief respite at the front. Camara, meanwhile, had climbed to eighth — adding valuable points to his championship campaign.
A one-lap shootout commenced as the Safety Car peeled into the pits and Wurz made his way onto the podium past Hedley into Turn 1.
Ugochukwu, meanwhile, locked up and ran wide, ending his chances of taking the victory in the Sprint Race.
Inthraphuvasak therefore held on for victory at the Hungaroring, adding to his Sprint Race victory from Silverstone earlier in the season
Ugochukwu and Wurz joined Inthraphuvasak on the podium, finishing second and third, respectively.
Hedley narrowly missed out on a top-three result, crossing the line in fourth, just ahead of Wharton in fifth.
Badoer secured sixth place, followed by Boya, Camara, Nael, and Xie, who rounded out the top 10.
The result marked a milestone for the Chinese driver, as he claimed his first-ever point in F3.
READ MORE – Rafael Camara secures crucial F3 pole position in Hungary to strengthen title push
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