Trident’s Richard Verschoor has become the 14th different race winner of the season with a victory in the F2 Sprint race at the 2024 Hungarian GP. In a race where the result relied heavily on tyre strategy, Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini secured his third P2 of the season followed by ART’s Victor Martins.
With the race conditions being cooler today, some of the grid opted for the Hard compound tyres. However, the majority of the grid went for the Softs, which would give them an advantage at the start. The tyre strategy would make or break the race for the grid, and the degradation would prove to be a huge issue for those choosing to run the Softs.
It was a disappointing start for Championship contender Zane Maloney, who should have started in P3 but did not make it off the line for the formation lap. He was forced to start from the pit lane, dashing his hopes of reigniting his Championship campaign.
At Lights Out
It was a good start for Verschoor at lights out, keeping Maini at bay as he slotted into P2. PREMA’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli immediately locked up round Turn 1, managing to stay in P3 and hold off Martins. Soon, Antonelli was up to P2, due to the rookie opting for the Soft tyres and garnering a grip advantage.
Into Lap 3, Antonelli was hot on the heels of Verschoor, 0.2s behind. A late move by Verschoor saw him stay ahead of the PREMA, however it would be in vain. A lap later Antonelli would be in the lead, garnering much more grip over Verschoor. The Dutchman was noted by the stewards for moving under braking on Antonelli’s first attempt at an overtake. However, there would be no further action.
Antonelli Breaks Away
Now in free air, Antonelli was setting the fastest laps in a bid to pull away from the pack. The gap to P2 could be vital come the end of the race, when the Hard tyres’ durability would give them an advantage. By Lap 6, Verschoor was almost two seconds behind. He was also being sized up by Maini, who had a pace advantage over the Trident and was in DRS range.
Meanwhile, Zak O’Sullivan was on the hunt for points this weekend, looking for a way past Franco Colapinto in P10 to attempt a P8 finish. Enzo Fittipaldi was down the outside on Turn 1 and past Gabriel Bortoleto, who appeared to be struggling on his set of Soft tyres by Lap 7.
By Lap 10, Antonelli was failing to pull away from the pack. Verschoor was keeping the gap to two seconds, biding his time until the Soft tyres began to drop off. Maini sat +1.3s behind, out of DRS of the Trident in front but also out of DRS from Martins behind.
Battle for Points
On Lap 12, Martins was in trouble from Hauger behind, who was looking for a podium finish. Hauger was late on the brakes to snatch the apex first on Turn 2, but it was not to be and Martins remained ahead. Maini had also caught up to Verschoor, looming in his mirrors. Antonelli out front was suffering from tyre degradation from the long corners and was beginning to struggle.
Verschoor and Antonelli found themselves once again embroiled in a brawl for the top spot on the podium by Lap 15. Antonelli kept the Trident at bay for a lap, locking up multiple times on already flat-spotted Softs. Verschoor continued to bide his time, but was being caught by the Invicta of Maini.
First to Last for Antonelli
A huge lockup by Antonelli seen him go wide at Turn 1 on Lap 17, letting Verschoor and Maini sail through. To add to the rookie’s misery, he was soon picked off by Martins and continued to tumble down the order with barely-drivable tyres. He was forced to pit on Lap 18, ruining his chance to secure points. He exited the pits in P22, tumbling from first to last in two laps.
In the midfield, F1-bound Oliver Bearman was making his way through the pack into the points. Starting in P14, he was up into the points in P8 by Lap 20. Bortoleto was the next in to change off the Softs on Lap 21 after an uneasy stint on the high-degradation track.
Championship leader Isack Hadjar was up to P5 with a haul of provisional points, using the Hard tyres to his advantage. Those on the Softs were struggling now, and the Red Bull Junior was knocking on the door of a podium as he overtook Fittipaldi who could not match the level of traction out of the corners.
Heartbreak for Fittipaldi
With six laps to go of the F2 Sprint race at the 2024 Hungarian GP, Hauger tried his hand at overtaking Fittipaldi, this time on the Softs, closely followed by his teammate Franco Colapinto. Hauger was victorious against Fittipaldi as the Van Amersfoort veered off the track, unable to control his flat-spotted tyres. A lap later, Fittipaldi’s Soft tyres gave in and he suffered a puncture, forcing him to limp back to the pits and consequentially dashing any hopes of points.
Paul Aron, in a bid to minimise Championship damage, was up to P7 after overtaking Bearman on Lap 25. Barnard was next to pass, pushing Bearman out of the points in an already disappointing season for the Brit. He would later tumble further down to finish in P11.
Verschoor held his own out front in the final couple of laps, followed by Maini two seconds behind and Martins a further eight seconds back. The grid could not catch the Dutchman, who took his first win of the season. Maini picked up his third second place of the season and fifth podium, followed by Martins. Rounding out the top five of the F2 Sprint race at the 2024 Hungarian GP was Hadjar and Hauger in P4 and P5 respectively.
Photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency via Trident Motorsport
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