Roundup of the ninth round of the 2024 F2 season in Hungary as the title fight delivered more surprises.
Campos’ Isack Hadjar entered the round as the new championship leader but the title fight endured a crazy weekend packed with surprise twists, which set up a tasty run-in with a rookie positioning himself as an outsider.
Practice
DAMS’ Jak Crawford was first out on track and set 1m 36.036 in the ninth minute as the benchmark time, albeit following a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) test.
Hadjar then Franco Colapinto went fastest but Zane Maloney soon posted 1m 33.566 in the 11th minute to go quickest, then found 0.045 seconds on his next flier to go quicker.
Pepe Marti however caused a VSC in the 18th minute as he spun out at Turn 11 but the VSC was withdrawn two minutes later.
Maloney went even faster in the 24th minute with 1m 33.247 but Victor Martins, Gabriel Bortoleto and Dennis Hauger went faster in the following six minutes, with the Norwegian quickest on 1m 33.100 on the half-hour mark.
Times soon continued to fall and with three minutes left in the session, Maloney set the fastest lap of 1m 32.668, ahead of Crawford and Fittipaldi.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 1m 32.668 |
| 2 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | + 0.133 |
| 3 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | + 0.260 |
| 4 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | + 0.316 |
| 5 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 0.432 |
| 6 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | + 0.570 |
| 7 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.577 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.799 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | + 0.844 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | + 0.844 |
| 11 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 0.876 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.936 |
| 13 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | + 0.970 |
| 14 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.996 |
| 15 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | + 1.032 |
| 16 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 1.048 |
| 17 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | + 1.152 |
| 18 | Kush Maini | Invicta | + 1.208 |
| 19 | Joshua Durksen | AIX Racing | + 1.551 |
| 20 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 1.622 |
| 21 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | + 2.015 |
| 22 | Taylor Barnard | AIX Racing | + 2.202 |
Qualifying
Crawford and Manuel Correa were first out on track with the American setting a 1m 31.921 as the benchmark time, which was usurped by many drivers as Bortoleto went fastest with 1m 30.269 as teams ran the soft tyre.
The red flags were out in the 11th minute after Marti suffered another spin at Turn 11 but the session resumed five minutes later, with 19 minutes and 02 seconds on the clock at time of resumption as some went out to scrub their tyres.
Despite scorching temperatures limiting drivers to just one final lap, everyone ventured out early for their final runs led by Aron.
Aron’s decision to head out first ultimately paid off with six minutes left as he posted 1m 30.028 to take pole position for the Feature Race from Fittipaldi, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Martins, Hauger, Antonelli, Maloney and Maini.
Verschoor rounded out the top ten and secured reverse-pole for the sprint race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | 1m 30.028 |
| 2 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | + 0.068 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | + 0.193 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | + 0.209 |
| 5 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.219 |
| 6 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 0.292 |
| 7 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | + 0.325 |
| 8 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | + 0.434 |
| 9 | Kush Maini | Invicta | + 0.464 |
| 10 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.578 |
| 11 | Joshua Durksen | AIX Racing | + 0.592 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.628 |
| 13 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | + 0.669 |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.716 |
| 15 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | + 0.792 |
| 16 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 0.858 |
| 17 | Taylor Barnard | AIX Racing | + 0.885 |
| 18 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | + 0.951 |
| 19 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | + 0.985 |
| 20 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 1.212 |
| 21 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 1.511 |
| 22 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | + 1.763 |
Sprint Race
Prior to the start of the formation lap, a huge curveball were rolled as 12 drivers unexpectedly opted for the soft tyre rather than hard tyre, then Maloney stalled on the formation lap from third on the grid.
At lights out, Verschoor led Maini and Antonelli but the latter was the highest soft-tyre starter, as those who began on the soft tyre got the advantage off the line with Bearman making up five places to ninth on the opening lap.
Up front, Verschoor battled to protect his lead as Antonelli cleared Maini through Turn 3, but the Italian’s superior pace saw him snatch the lead on Lap 4 on the inside of Turn 1.
Fittipaldi meanwhile cleared Bortoleto for sixth on Lap 7 but the soft tyres soon hit its peak and quickly began to degrade, which caused huge issues for rookies like Antonelli as Verschoor reeled him back in at a steady pace.
Verschoor’s resilience on the hard tyre saw him reclaim the lead on Lap 17 after Antonelli ran wide at Turn 1, with the 17 year-old demoted to sixth by the end of the following lap before he pitted.
Bortoleto meanwhile suffered a similar fate at the hands of Hadjar, Colapinto and Bearman on Laps 14, 19 and 20 respectively, before he and other rookies pitted for hard tyres.
Up front, Fittipaldi began to feel his soft tyres fade despite his experience as Hadjar, Hauger and Colapinto passed him, before he suffered a puncture on Lap 26 to end his hopes of points.
Verschoor meanwhile led Maini to the checkered flag whilst Martins quietly managed his soft tyres to the checkered flag in third place, ahead of Hadjar who passed Hauger on Lap 21 for an eventual fourth-placed finish on the road.
Colapinto finished sixth ahead of Aron who recovered from a slow getaway on hard tyres to finish seventh, in front of Barnard who was the highest-placed rookie to finish on the soft tyre in eighth.
Verschoor however was disqualified post-race due to his plank only being 3.7mm thick and below the minimum requirement, which promoted Maini to victory and everyone else up a position.
Manuel Correa consequently inherited the final point in eighth place following a double overtake on Crawford and Bearman on the penultimate lap, during which the trio went three abreast into Turn 3 and escaped with minimal contact.
In the driver standings, Hadjar extended his title lead over Aron to 18 points, whilst Maloney, Bortoleto and Colapinto rounded out the top five.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Kush Maini | Invicta | 28 | 44m 28.935 |
| 2 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 28 | + 9.564 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | 28 | + 15.005 |
| 4 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 28 | + 24.643 |
| 5 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 28 | + 26.161 |
| 6 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | 28 | + 32.825 |
| 7 | Taylor Barnard | AIX Racing | 28 | + 37.451 |
| 8 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | 28 | + 40.904 |
| 9 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 28 | + 49.354 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 28 | + 52.613 |
| 11 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 28 | + 54.021 |
| 12 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | 28 | + 54.665 |
| 13 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 28 | + 54.913 |
| 14 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | 28 | + 55.108 |
| 15 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 28 | + 55.302 |
| 16 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | 28 | + 56.073 |
| 17 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 28 | + 57.437 |
| 18 | Joshua Durksen | AIX Racing | 28 | + 59.822 |
| 19 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | 28 | + 64.702 |
| 20 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | 28 | + 65.863 |
| 21 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | 27 | + 1 Lap |
| DSQ | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 28 | Plank |
Championship leader, Hadjar failed to exit the pit-lane to join the grid in time which forced him to start from the pit-lane.
At lights out, Hadjar’s absence in the third-placed grid spot allowed Martins to blast through to take the lead into the opening corner from Fittipaldi, as pole-sitter Aron dropped to seventh.
Martins proceeded to head the order as several drivers went into tyre-management mode.
Maloney and Antonelli improved to fourth and fifth at the start as the lead hard tyre runners, but the Italian battled his way past through Turns 9, 10 and 11 to take fourth on Lap 6.
Aron meanwhile tagged the rear of Maloney a lap later to spin both drivers out and cause a safety car, under which the soft tyre runners pitted and Colapinto surprisingly went from hard to the soft tyre early.
Racing resumed on Lap 11 with Antonelli heading Verschoor, whilst Bortoleto cleared Fittipaldi for seventh and net second-place, whilst Colapinto passed Bearman on Lap 14 for a net sixth position pending hard runners pitting.
Martins meanwhile cleared Maini then Verschoor on Laps 15 and 19 to put himself on course for a second win of the season, until Cordeel spun out at Turn 4 on Lap 22 which caused a second safety car period.
Antonelli consequently took the opportunity to pit and when racing resumed on Lap 27, he swiftly cleared Hauger and Fittipaldi in the first three corners.
The 17 year-old then passed Bortoleto and Martins into Turn 1 on the following two laps to take the lead and sprint away to his second win of the season.
Martins fought off Bortoleto to finish second, as the Brazilian lost third to Verschoor on the final lap at Turn 2.
Fittipaldi, Hauger, Maini, Miyata, Barnard and Villagomez rounded out the top ten.
In the drivers’ standings, Hadjar retained his 18-point lead over Aron, whilst Bortoleto moved up to third and just 30 points off the summit with five rounds left of the season.
F2 now head to Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, across 26-28 July ahead of the summer break.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | 36 | 1h 2m 46.691 |
| 2 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 36 | + 12.528 |
| 3 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 36 | + 13.355 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | 36 | + 14.819 |
| 5 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | 36 | + 18.516 |
| 6 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 36 | + 19.179 |
| 7 | Kush Maini | Invicta | 36 | + 20.270 |
| 8 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | 36 | + 20.498 |
| 9 | Taylor Barnard | ART GP | 36 | + 21.193 |
| 10 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 36 | + 23.310 |
| 11 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 36 | + 24.882 |
| 12 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 36 | + 26.705 |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 36 | + 28.408 |
| 14 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | 36 | + 31.105 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 36 | + 31.507 |
| 16 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | 36 | + 31.883 |
| 17 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 36 | + 32.868 |
| 18 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | 36 | + 33.754 |
| 19 | Joshua Durksen | AIX Racing | 36 | + 44.655 |
| RET | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | 21 | Spin |
| RET | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 6 | Collision |
| RET | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | 6 | Collision |
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