Gabriele Minì managed his tires brilliantly, possessed superior pace, and comfortably took victory in the F2 Sprint in Hungary. Championship leader Nikola Tsolov retired after colliding with Sebastián Montoya in the battle for second place

In a processional race where tire management proved crucial to performance, Gabriele Minì came out on top to claim his second victory of the Formula 2 season in the Hungarian Sprint on Saturday (25). Starting from second place, the Italian MP Motorsport driver passed Sebastián Montoya on Lap 17 and merely needed to manage his pace to be the first across the finish line. Rafael Câmara staged a strong recovery drive, climbing from ninth to fourth.

Montoya and Minì engaged in a compelling battle throughout the sprint. Although the Prema driver pushed hard in the opening laps to build a 1.4s gap, the MP driver responded from Lap 4 onwards, aiming to stay within 1s of his rival to keep the DRS advantage.

The race-winning pass finally arrived on Lap 17, when Minì gained a strong run down the main straight and capitalized on a lock-up by Montoya at Turn 1 to seize the lead.

However, the defining moment of the race occurred on Lap 21, when Nikola Tsolov made contact with Montoya at Turn 1, putting both cars out of the race and triggering the Virtual Safety Car.

During the final laps, there were no changes at the front, and Minì cruised unchallenged to victory. Dino Beganovic and Laurens Van Hoepen completed the podium, while Rafael Câmara, Kush Maini, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Noel León, Joshua Dürksen, Martinius Stenshorne, and John Bennett rounded out the top 10.

León, however, received a 5-second penalty for a Virtual Safety Car procedure infringement, dropping him to ninth.

Formula 2 action resumes in Hungary on Sunday (26) with the Feature Race.

How the Hungarian F2 Sprint Unfolded

Conditions were sunny at the Hungaroring, with ambient temperatures at 25 °C and track temperatures reaching 49 °C at lights-out. Benefiting from the inverted grid, Sebastián Montoya lined up on pole position with Gabriele Minì, second in the standings, right behind him. Rafael Câmara had qualified second on Friday and thus started from ninth on the sprint grid.

As the race got underway, Montoya maintained the lead, with Minì holding second. Nikola Tsolov also made a strong start to climb to third, while Câmara jumped up to sixth. Sebastián set a blistering pace in the opening laps, opening up a 1.4s advantage by the end of Lap 2.

Once Race Control enabled DRS, Minì picked up the pace and closed the gap to Montoya to 0.6s. However, the twisty nature of the Hungarian circuit made overtaking attempts extremely difficult.

Realizing the difficulty of launching an attack, Minì settled into managing his pace, allowing Montoya to re-establish a 1.1s lead. Given the heavy tire degradation on the surface, the race settled into a rhythm as drivers began managing their compounds to preserve performance for the closing stages.

From Lap 11 onwards, Minì increased the pressure again, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:33.757. The gap to the leader dropped to 0.5s, though Montoya managed to hold position.

After saving his tires, Minì carried far greater speed down the main straight on Lap 17. Montoya attempted to defend into Turn 1, but locked up on entry, relinquishing the lead. The scrap allowed Tsolov to close in; the Bulgarian launched a dive down the inside into Turn 1 on the following lap, but remained third.

On Lap 21, Nikola placed his car on the inside of Sebastián down the main straight and dived into Turn 1 once more. Contact was inevitable, resulting in a double retirement and bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.

The track cleared quickly, and when the green flags waved, positions remained static. With three laps remaining, Laurens Van Hoepen made a mistake, allowing Câmara to close in for a battle over third place. However, the pass could not be completed.

Out front, Minì managed his gap through to the checkered flag, with Dino Beganovic and Van Hoepen completing the podium.

F2 2026: Hungarian GP Sprint Race Results at the Hungaroring