Hungaroring, twisty Hungarian track set for top battle
The ninth round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship will go underway at Hungaroring this weekend. Having left the fast and demanding Silverstone circuit in the rearview mirror, the series moves to a narrow and slow track, where overtaking is not easy and qualifying is even more important than usual. After the third fastest lap and the pole position secured with Richard Verschoor at Melbourne and Monte Carlo, moving to a series of classic tracks, the level of qualifying performance for the Trident Motorsport drivers suffered an unexpected decline, which negatively influenced the results.
The victory secured by Roman Staněk at Melbourne is in the books, the latest outings in Barcelona, Spielberg and Silverstone were not impressive, with only one point achieved by the Czech in the Silverstone Sprint Race. With a very balanced season, it proved very complicated to pull off successful comeback runs. Returning to the twisty Hungaroring track, Verschoor looks back to his best result there, a P8 in 2022, while Staněk never scored points in Hungary in F2.
Trident Motorsport took advantage of the short break to regroup, reuniting the technical staff with the drivers and working hard to prepare for the two races at Hungaroring and Spa, before the August break, with high focus and determination.
The Hungaroring offers the chance to fight back in the championship classification starting with a convincing performance on Friday, but maximum attention to every detail and maximum dedication will be needed to have a competitive and profitable weekend.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager: “The FIA Formula 2 Championship will face a challenging weekend at the Hungaroring. The Hungarian track offers very different technical characteristics compared to the two previous circuits. Unlike Silverstone, it includes narrow, twisty sections and has only one real straight. It has a very technical layout, which also features medium-high speed corners. A perfect compromise will be needed in terms of balance and set-up. Even temperatures are expected to be very high, which will play a role in single-lap performance and long runs. We know that the lap time differences will be minimal and the details will make the difference. We will give our 100 percent to ensure we are not caught unprepared and to deliver a competitive weekend."
The FIA Formula 2 Championship will get into action on Friday at 11:05 with a 45-minute free practice session. Qualifying is scheduled on the same day at 16:00. The Sprint Race will be on Saturday at 14:15. The Feature Race, which will wrap up the weekend, will start on Sunday at 10:05. The activity on the track will be fully broadcast live on the Sky Sports network. Times are local, CET.