NOEL LEON WINS CHAOTIC FORMULA 2 FEATURE RACE IN BUDAPEST - Motorsportsclicks

Noel Leon won a dramatic Formula 2 Feature Race at the Hungaroring, taking his third victory of the season after benefiting from a combination of strong driving and perfect timing during a key moment of the race. The Mexican driver managed the final stages well to secure victory ahead of Kush Maini and Rafael Câmara, who completed the podium.

The race victory was built around two crucial moments: the start and the timing of his pit stop. Starting from third place, León immediately attacked Rafael Câmara and moved into second position behind Maini. However, the Mexican driver struggled to match Maini’s pace during the opening stint, forcing him to focus more on defending from Câmara and the group of drivers behind.

During the first laps, a train of five cars formed near the front of the field, with León leading the group behind Maini. The gap to the race leader was around six seconds, but the race changed completely when the first pit stops began.

The decisive moment came on lap 16 when León entered the pits at exactly the same time that Race Control introduced a Virtual Safety Car period after Villagómez stopped on track. Under VSC conditions, drivers are normally not allowed to enter the pit lane unless they are already committed to the entrance, which was the case for León.

Because of the timing, León effectively lost much less time during his pit stop compared to his rivals. Maini and Câmara stayed out longer on their Soft tyres, extending their first stint until laps 20 and 21 before making their stops.

When León returned to the track, Maini was only five seconds behind him, but the situation became complicated for the Indian driver. Between them were Enzo Fittipaldi and Oliver Goethe, who were fighting closely and slowed down Maini’s progress. Despite closing the gap, neither Maini nor Câmara managed to get close enough to attack León for the lead.

León controlled the final laps and crossed the finish line to take his third win of the season. Maini secured second place after successfully defending from Câmara in the final lap, with the Brazilian finishing just four tenths behind the Indian driver.

The championship battle between the main title contenders also produced important changes. Nikola Tsolov and Gabriele Minì both struggled to fight for the top positions, but their performances had different outcomes in the standings.

Minì started from ninth place and never found the pace needed to challenge the leaders. Both his first and second stints were difficult, leaving him unable to make significant progress through the field.

Tsolov, meanwhile, showed a more aggressive approach from the beginning. Starting further back, the Campos Racing driver gained positions during the opening stages and continued putting pressure on his rivals throughout the race.

Minì was one of the first drivers to make his pit stop, but after returning to the track he found himself behind Inthraphuvasak, Beganovic and Tsolov. One by one, those drivers managed to overtake him, with Tsolov eventually winning their direct battle for position.

Minì finished the Feature Race in ninth place, while Tsolov crossed the line seventh and extended his championship advantage. The Bulgarian driver gained four points over his main rival and now leads Minì by 20 points.

However, Tsolov lost ground to Câmara, who recovered important points in the title fight. The Brazilian reduced the gap to Tsolov and is now only 22 points behind the championship leader, while also moving closer to Minì, with just two points separating them.

The Budapest weekend ends with the championship battle becoming even tighter, with Tsolov maintaining the advantage but Câmara and Minì remaining within striking distance heading into the next rounds of the Formula 2 season.