Round nine of the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship in Hungary, blessed us with a couple of exhilarating races, with close fights and a plethora of overtakes.
Formula 1 in Hungary proved boring for many, with the usual suspects running away in the lead and a record twelfth consecutive win recorded by Red Bull Racing.
The same cannot be said for F2. Both Championships remain extremely close at the top and it seems as though at least half the field of 22 drivers has a decent crack at taking victory in any given week.
With just a handful of weekends remaining in the season, a single subpar weekend could shatter momentum and mathematically rule you out of a chance at the Drivers’ and Teams’ Titles.
So who performed in Hungary and who let an opportunity for solid points slip? The F2 Report examines the 2023 Budapest FIA Formula 2 round.
Doohan rediscovers old form
Jack Doohan was undoubtedly the star of the show in Hungary. His dominance of the weekend started in Qualifying, as he took pole position and looked set to improve by over two tenths of a second before realising he was uncontested.
The Australian scored no points in the Sprint Race but rebounded with a stellar lights-to-flag win in the Feature on Sunday. This helped Doohan jump to fifth in the Standings on 100 points.
A reversal in fortunes for the son of five-time motorcycle Champion Mick Doohan, who was far off Title contention as he himself had predicted he would be in 2023.
“I’m expecting nothing else but to dominate the Championship,” he had said before the start of this season.
From now on, Doohan will have to bring home more trophies and hope that those ahead of him in the Championship crack under pressure to have any shot at claiming the Drivers’ crown this year.
The Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver is high in confidence after an impressive few days in Hungary. He told F2 media: “I’m not in a title-contending position at this point in time, but I look forward to putting myself in that position very soon. I’ll be going full gas and going for the win.”
Tied in the Teams’ Championship
French outfit ART Grand Prix closed the deficit to leaders PREMA Racing to precisely nothing at the Hungaroring. Both teams stand on 247 points, and with third-placed DAMS 73 points behind it’s looking like a two-horse race for the Teams’ trophy.
Championship leader Frederik Vesti of PREMA holds an eleven-point advantage over the ART of Theo Pourchaire. On the other hand, the ART of Victor Martins is eleven points ahead of fellow rookie Oliver Bearman of PREMA.
Both teams are churning out consistent points each round, making it difficult to predict who will come out on top by the end of the year.
PREMA have more Championship-winning pedigree in the F1 feeder series, but that doesn’t mean much in a category where everyone has the same car and the margins are so close…
2023 Formula 2 Standings after 9/13 rounds
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