Richard Verschoor delivered a solid performance at the Hungarian GP, securing fifth place in Sunday’s F2 Feature Race, though the MP Motorsport driver couldn’t help but feel a podium opportunity had slipped through his fingers.
The Dutch racer’s Hungarian GP weekend began on a challenging note, with a ninth-place finish in Free Practice followed by an 11th-place qualifying result. Missing out on the top 10 by the narrowest of margins—just 0.056 seconds behind Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí—Verschoor faced the daunting prospect of fighting his way into the points-paying positions.
Fighting back through the field
However, the 24-year-old demonstrated his racecraft by climbing to sixth in the Sprint Race before improving further to fifth in the main event. Despite the positive result, Verschoor believed a podium finish was within reach had it not been for costly battles in the race’s opening phase.
Costly early-race encounters
The key moment came during an early-race encounter with Martí and Gabriele Minì, which Verschoor felt unnecessarily compromised both drivers’ progress through the field.
“It was interesting,” Verschoor reflected on the race. “I think we have been lucky that there was a VSC and a Safety Car for sure. On the other hand, our pace was mega today.
“I am a bit disappointed with Martí because I lost so much time because of him. He was trying to defend a lot, which didn’t make sense, and then we were both stuck behind Minì later.”
“So we both lost a lot of time there, which I think was a shame, because I would definitely would have been fighting for the podium if not for that.”
Despite the missed opportunity, Verschoor remained philosophical about the weekend’s outcome, acknowledging the valuable championship points gained.
“But so far we are feeling strong, happy with 10 points today, now a small holiday and then we are back,” he added.
A heated battle for the F2 Championship title
The result maintains Verschoor’s strong championship position, sitting third in the standings with 135 points as the series heads into its summer break. However, he trails championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli—who claimed victory in the Feature Race—by 19 points heading into Round 11 at Monza.
Looking ahead to the Italian venue, Verschoor expressed genuine enthusiasm for returning to one of his favoured circuits. The upcoming weeks will see intensive preparation work with partners and simulator sessions as he aims to return to winning form.
“I’m very excited,” Verschoor previewed. “Monza is always a track that I really like, it’s a high-speed track, high-speed in terms of top speed, but some nice chicanes.”
“The races are always exciting, and I am really excited for that.”
With the championship battle heating up and Monza on the horizon, Verschoor’s drive suggests he’ll be a strong contender when racing resumes, particularly if he can avoid the tactical battles that cost him dearly at the F2 Hungarian GP.
