Gabriele Minì significantly reduced Nikola Tsolov’s advantage at the top of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship after winning the F2 Sprint Race at the Hungarian GP in Budapest.
Minì claimed victory and the fastest-lap point to score 11 points, while Tsolov retired following his collision with Sebastián Montoya. Consequently, the MP Motorsport driver cut the championship leader’s advantage from 27 to 16 points.
Meanwhile, Dino Beganovic climbed two positions into fifth after finishing second, and Laurens van Hoepen strengthened ninth with the final podium position. MP Motorsport also moved from third to second in the Teams’ Championship, while Invicta Racing overtook Rodin Motorsport for third.
Minì cuts Tsolov’s championship lead to 16 points
Tsolov entered the Hungarian GP Sprint Race with 161 points and a 27-point advantage over Minì.
The Campos Racing driver started fourth and moved ahead of Beganovic into third during the opening lap. He subsequently closed on reverse-grid polesitter Montoya after Minì took the lead on Lap 17.
However, Tsolov attempted a late move into Turn 1 on Lap 21 and collided with the PREMA Racing driver. Both drivers retired with damage, leaving Tsolov without a point for the first time since the Montréal Feature Race.
The Stewards held Tsolov predominantly responsible for the collision and handed him a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Feature Race, alongside two penalty points. Therefore, he will start P12 after originally qualifying seventh.
Minì, meanwhile, converted second on the reverse grid into victory. He passed Montoya at Turn 1 and controlled the final phase to win by 3.787 seconds.
The Italian also recorded the fastest lap among the points-eligible finishers. Therefore, he collected 11 points and increased his total from 134 to 145.
Tsolov remains on 161, reducing his championship lead to 16 points before Sunday’s Feature Race.
Câmara reaches 130 points but loses ground to Minì
Rafael Câmara strengthened third place after finishing fourth for Invicta Racing.
The Brazilian began the Sprint Race with 125 points and crossed the line 7.021s behind Minì. Consequently, he added five points and increased his championship total to 130.
However, Minì’s victory increased the gap between the pair from nine to 15 points. Câmara reduced his deficit to Tsolov from 36 to 31 points because the championship leader failed to finish.
Câmara also extended his advantage over fourth-placed Alexander Dunne from 17 to 22 points.
Dunne remains fourth after difficult Sprint Race
Dunne failed to score after finishing 19th for Rodin Motorsport.
The Irish driver started outside the reverse-grid top 10 and struggled to make significant progress around the Hungaroring. He therefore remained on 108 points.
Dunne now trails Câmara by 22 points, while Beganovic’s podium reduced the gap behind him from 45 to 37 points.
Beganovic climbs two places after second-place finish
Beganovic recorded the largest movement near the top of the Drivers’ Championship after finishing second.
The DAMS Lucas Oil driver started third but lost a position to Tsolov during the opening lap. Nevertheless, he moved back into the podium positions after Tsolov and Montoya retired.
Beganovic resisted late pressure from Van Hoepen and Câmara to secure eight points. He increased his total from 63 to 71 and climbed from seventh to fifth.
As a result, Beganovic moved ahead of Noel León and Kush Maini. He now trails Dunne by 37 points and holds a two-point advantage over León.
León and Maini each drop one position
León crossed the line ninth after receiving a five-second penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement.
The Campos Racing driver had passed Joshua Dürksen for seventh on the road. However, the penalty dropped him outside the points, leaving him on 69.
Beganovic’s rise therefore pushed León from fifth to sixth in the championship.
Maini collected four points after finishing fifth for ART Grand Prix. He increased his total from 63 to 67 but still dropped from sixth to seventh because Beganovic scored eight points.
Maini now trails León by two points and leads eighth-placed Martinius Stenshorne by eight.
Stenshorne holds eighth as Van Hoepen closes the gap
Stenshorne earned one point after finishing eighth.
The Rodin Motorsport driver increased his total from 58 to 59 and retained eighth place. However, Van Hoepen’s podium reduced the gap between them from 11 to six points.
Van Hoepen finished third after keeping Câmara behind during the closing laps. The TRIDENT driver collected six points and moved from 47 to 53.
Although he remained ninth, Van Hoepen extended his advantage over Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak from one to four points.
Inthraphuvasak moves to within four points of Van Hoepen
Inthraphuvasak finished sixth after spending much of the Sprint Race fighting teammate Maini.
The ART Grand Prix driver added three points and increased his total from 46 to 49. He retained 10th place but now sits four points behind Van Hoepen.
Furthermore, Inthraphuvasak increased his advantage over Dürksen and Rafael Villagómez from eight to 11 points.
Dürksen moves ahead of Villagómez on countback
Dürksen added two points after finishing seventh for Invicta Racing.
He entered the race with 36 points and increased his total to 38. As a result, he moved from 12th to 11th and drew level with Villagómez.
Dürksen holds the position on countback due to his Sprint Race victory in Melbourne. Villagómez failed to score after finishing 15th and consequently dropped to 12th.
Lower half remains unchanged
Ritomo Miyata remained 13th on 34 points after finishing outside the top 10.
Oliver Goethe retained 14th with 29 points, while Montoya remained one point behind in 15th following his retirement.
Colton Herta stayed 16th on 26 points, ahead of Roman Bilinski on 24. Meanwhile, John Bennett, Nicolás Varrone and Mari Boya remained 18th, 19th and 20th respectively.
Emerson Fittipaldi and Cian Shields also remained level on 10 points at the bottom of the standings.
2026 F2 Drivers’ Championship standings after the Hungarian GP Sprint Race
- Nikola Tsolov — 161 points
- Gabriele Minì — 145 points
- Rafael Câmara — 130 points
- Alexander Dunne — 108 points
- Dino Beganovic — 71 points
- Noel León — 69 points
- Kush Maini — 67 points
- Martinius Stenshorne — 59 points
- Laurens van Hoepen — 53 points
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak — 49 points
- Joshua Dürksen — 38 points
- Rafael Villagómez — 38 points
- Ritomo Miyata — 34 points
- Oliver Goethe — 29 points
- Sebastián Montoya — 28 points
- Colton Herta — 26 points
- Roman Bilinski — 24 points
- John Bennett — 17 points
- Nicolás Varrone — 14 points
- Mari Boya — 12 points
- Emerson Fittipaldi — 10 points
- Cian Shields — 10 points
Tsolov leads Minì by 16 points, while Câmara sits another 15 points behind. Beganovic’s podium moved him into fifth, while Dürksen climbed ahead of Villagómez on countback.
Campos Racing’s Teams’ Championship lead falls to 56 points
Campos Racing failed to score for the first time during the Budapest weekend.
Tsolov retired following his collision with Montoya, while León’s five-second penalty dropped him from seventh to ninth and outside the points.
Campos therefore remained on 230 points. Although the team retained a comfortable championship lead, its advantage fell from 64 to 56 points.
MP Motorsport jumps from third to second
MP Motorsport collected the largest team score during the Sprint Race.
Minì contributed 11 points through victory and the fastest eligible lap, while Goethe finished 12th and failed to score.
The team increased its total from 163 to 174 points and climbed from third to second. MP now trails Campos by 56 points and leads Invicta Racing by six.
Invicta Racing overtakes Rodin for third
Invicta Racing scored seven points through Câmara and Dürksen.
Câmara added five after finishing fourth, while Dürksen contributed another two in seventh. Their combined haul lifted Invicta from 161 to 168 points.
Consequently, the team moved from fourth to third and established a one-point advantage over Rodin Motorsport.
Rodin added only one point through Stenshorne, while Dunne finished outside the top 10. The team increased its total from 166 to 167 but dropped from second to fourth.
Only seven points now separate MP Motorsport, Invicta Racing and Rodin Motorsport.
ART strengthens fifth ahead of DAMS
ART Grand Prix added seven points after placing both drivers inside the top six.
Maini collected four points in fifth, while Inthraphuvasak added three in sixth. Therefore, ART increased its total from 109 to 116 and extended its advantage over DAMS Lucas Oil from 22 to 21 points despite Beganovic’s podium.
DAMS collected eight points entirely through Beganovic and moved from 87 to 95. Bilinski recorded the outright fastest lap but remained ineligible for the bonus point because he finished outside the top 10.
TRIDENT pulls clear of Hitech
TRIDENT increased its total from 64 to 70 points after Van Hoepen finished third.
Bennett crossed the line 10th but did not score. Nevertheless, Van Hoepen’s six-point contribution increased TRIDENT’s advantage over Hitech from four to 10 points.
Hitech remained on 60 after Miyata and Herta finished 13th and 14th respectively.
Meanwhile, Van Amersfoort Racing, PREMA Racing and AIX Racing all failed to score and remained on 52, 40 and 20 points.
2026 F2 Teams’ Championship standings after the Hungarian GP Sprint Race
- Campos Racing — 230 points
- MP Motorsport — 174 points
- Invicta Racing — 168 points
- Rodin Motorsport — 167 points
- ART Grand Prix — 116 points
- DAMS Lucas Oil — 95 points
- TRIDENT — 70 points
- Hitech — 60 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing — 52 points
- PREMA Racing — 40 points
- AIX Racing — 20 points
Campos Racing leads MP Motorsport by 56 points. However, only seven points separate MP, Invicta Racing and Rodin Motorsport in the battle for second, while ART Grand Prix holds fifth by 21 points.
