Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Autosport
Autosport
Sport
Megan White

F2 Hungary: Doohan cruises to sprint race win

The Virtuosi driver started on pole, briefly losing the lead to Enzo Fittipaldi off the line, before retaking the lead by Turn 2. 

From there, he resisted Vips, who closed the gap to less than a second at times but was unable to catch the Alpine Academy driver, who took his second series win. 

Vips settled for second in his Hitech-run car, with Fittipaldi in third to take his fourth podium of the season for Charouz. 

Fittipaldi got the best start off the line, immediately taking the lead of the race, but ran wide into Turn 2 and allowed Doohan back into the lead. 

Chaos ensued further back, as Dennis Hauger and Logan Sargeant made contact at Turn 1, ending both drivers’ races and forcing Theo Pourchaire to take evasive action, dropping him from seventh to 16th. 

Frederik Vesti then ran wide at Turn 4 while trying to take third from Fittipaldi, allowing championship leader Felipe Drugovich through for fourth, while Fittipaldi kept third. 

The safety car was soon deployed after Hauger was unable to get started again, while Sargeant pitted to retire with terminal damage. 

Racing resumed on lap four, with Doohan releasing the pack early before charging off towards Turn 1, leaving Vips and Fittipaldi behind, the latter applying pressure on his rival. 

Pourchaire began his charge through the field, passing Roberto Merhi (Campos) on lap eight, before taking 14th from David Beckmann down the inside of Turn 1 on lap 10. 

Ayumu Iwasa, DAMS (Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool)

Jehan Daruvala, Marcus Armstrong (Hitech) and Carlin’s Liam Lawson tussled for sixth for much of the race, with Daruvala running ahead. 

But the pair came together on lap 19, with Armstrong pushed wide at Turn 1 as Daruvala went up the inside. 

The incident, for which the Prema driver received a 10-second penalty, allowed Lawson through to seventh, while Armstrong rejoined in eighth.  

DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa attempted to get in on the action at Turn 2, trying a pass on Armstrong, but failed to pass the New Zealander. 

By lap 22, the gap from Doohan to Vips was under one second, but the Australian quickly pressed ahead to reopen the gap to 1.7s by the following lap. 

Daruvala began falling down the order, with Lawson and Armstrong passing him before he eventually pitted for fresh soft tyres on lap 24. 

Pourchaire, meanwhile, was up to ninth, having passed Calan Williams and Olli Caldwell to secure himself a spot in the points. 

Unable to catch Doohan, Vips was left to fend off Fittipaldi, but the Charouz driver’s worn medium tyres meant he was unable to pass and settled for the final podium spot. 

Drugovich took fourth, with Vesti and Lawson in fifth and sixth respectively. Despite the incident with Daruvala, Armstrong finished seventh, with Iwasa in eighth. 

F2 Hungary: Full sprint race results

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.