F3 | Sprint Race | Hungarian GP | Inthraphuvasak secures second win to keep Campos in Teams’ Championship title hunt

Campos Racing's Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak took his Sprint Race win at F3 Hungarian GP.
Photo Credit: Formula 3 | X
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Campos Racing’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak delivered a calm and collected drive to claim his second win of the season, full report and results below.

It was a clean sweep for championship leader Rafael Câmara on Friday. Having set the pace in Practice, the Brazilian went on to claim his fifth pole position of the year during Qualifying. The session saw extremely tight margins as the top five were separated by a tenth. However, executing the perfect lap when it mattered, Câmara emerged on top to beat Campos Racing’s Mari Boya to pole. Most importantly for the Brazilian, his closest championship rivals were well down the order—Tim Tramnitz in P17 and Nikola Tsolov in P21. While Tramnitz and Tsolov remain Câmara’s closest title rivals, the Brazilian must also keep an eye on Boya, who lines up next to him on Sunday and currently sits P4 in the Drivers’ Standings. Now holding a 28-point lead, Câmara looks set to seal the title with a round to go.

After Qualifying, Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Christian Ho were handed three-place grid penalties for impeding. As such, Voisin—who was set to start P23—will start both races from P26. And, Ho—who was set to start P24—will start both races from P27. However, on the front-row for today’s Sprint, all eyes were on Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and James Hedley who will lead the pack down to Turn 1.

Time to go sprinting at the Hungaroring!

It was a great launch off the line for Inthraphuvasak as he cut straight across the track to defend from Hedley. All safely through Turn 1, Martinius Stenshorne went wide into the next turn. Momentarily, Ugochukwu ran wide as drivers were all fighting for track position.

Out in front, Inthrphuvasak held onto the lead as Hedley continued to pressure the Thai driver.

Lap 2 safety car deployed for Giusti

As Giusti attempted to take avoiding action as he collided with Ugochukwu. Sustaining front-left suspension damage, Giusti was forced to retire from the race as he eventually found the barrier. Subsequently, a safety car was deployed. Meanwhile, in the pits, Laurens van Hoepen and Ivan Domingues trampled back for a front-wing change after both drivers collided with each other.

On Lap 4, the safety car ended as Inthraphuvasak nailed the restart. Headed down into Turn 2, Boya attempted a move down the inside of Theophile Naël. Having moved up three spots from where he started, Boya was now P8. Further down the field, Noel Leon and Stenshorne ran off the track as they battled it out with Gerard Xie and Tim Tramnitz respectively.

Into the last corner, Ugochukwu lunged down the inside of his teammate Brando Badoer and claimed P4. Shortly after, outside of Wharton into Turn 2, the American driver had now made his way to the podium places.

Settling into a rhythm

Showcasing immense pace, Ugochukwu was catching Hedley quickly. Whilst Benavides tried to give his place back to Câmara, he subsequently lost three places as a result. Back in the pits, cameras showed Nicola Lacorte jumping out of the car as he was forced to retire from the race. Side-by-side into Turn 2, Badoer battled with Wharton who defended his place from the Italian. Around the outside of Hedley, Ugochukwu attempted to stick a move but had to back out and slotted himself back into P3.

Further down the field, Câmara lunged down the inside of Taponen into Turn 1 and claimed P11. Replay showed Benavides running extremely wide after a snap of oversteer. Xie continued to struggle as he continued to fall down the order. Meanwhile, Inthraphuvasak had now extended his lead to more than a second. From P21, Tsolov had made his way to P18. Attempting a bold move down the inside of Strømsted, the Bulgarian was late on the breaks as he continued to make his way up.

The fight for the podium spots continued to intensify as Ugochukwu was hunting down Inthraphuvasak for his maiden F3 win. However, the stewards handed Stenshorne a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Headed back into the pits, Benavides returned to the pits to retire the car.

Safety car on Lap 15 for Leon and Naël

Naël and Leon collided with each other as they battled side-by-side into Turn 4. This then triggered the second safety car of the Sprint Race. As the safety car continued to stay out with two laps to go, the stewards had noted several incidents. On Lap 18, the safety car ended as Inthraphuvasak was one lap away from claiming his second win.

Into the final corner, Ugochukwu remained closed to Inthraphuvasak. Big lock up for the American driver as he ran wide at the exit of the first corner. Meanwhile, Charlie Wurz made his way through Hedley to claim the final spot on the podium. Further down the field, Câmara and Boya fiercely battled it out as they fought for P7. However, out in front, the Thai driver delivered a controlled race from start to finish to claim his second win of the season.

Provisional results for F3 Sprint Race at Hungarian GP:

  1. T. Inthraphuvasak
  2. U. Ugochukwu
  3. C. Wurz
  4. J. Hedley
  5. J. Wharton
  6. B. Badoer
  7. M. Boya
  8. R. Câmara
  9. T. Naël
  10. G. Xie
  11. T. Taponen
  12. S. Ramos
  13. T. Tramnitz
  14. R. Bilinski
  15. N. Tsolov
  16. L. Sharp
  17. N. Strømsted
  18. C. Voisin
  19. B. Del Pino
  20. L. van Hoepen
  21. C. Ho
  22. N. Marinangeli
  23. M. Stenshorne
  24. N. Johnson
  25. M. Zagazeta
  26. I. Domingues
  27. N. Leon [DNF]
  28. B. Benavides [DNF]
  29. N. Lacorte [DNF]
  30. A. Giusti [DNF]