F2 – Hungarian Grand Prix – Sprint: Martí holds off Dunne to win Sprint in Budapest

The Spanish driver, Pepe Martí, withstood pressure from Alex Dunne in the final laps to win the sprint race at the Hungarian Formula 2 Grand Prix. A victory built from pole position and solidified after a late restart under the safety car.

A controlled start and an internal battle

Starting from pole position thanks to the reversed grid, Pepe Martí was able to take advantage of his position to maintain the lead at the start of the sprint race in Budapest. The Campos driver withstood attacks from Arvid Lindblad, his teammate, in the early laps, before Alex Dunne took over in applying pressure.

Behind, the start was lively: a contact between Stanek and Mini resulted in a ten-second penalty for the latter, while Verschoor took advantage of the duel between Fornaroli and Goethe to gain two positions. By the fourth lap, a trio consisting of Marti, Lindblad, and Dunne pulled away, benefiting from the activation of the DRS.

Lindblad attempted twice to take the lead from Martí, but the leader defended his position well. The first attempt, on the eighth lap, was repelled with a well-placed counter in the third corner. The second, two laps later, also failed, and Martí expressed his annoyance over the radio at this premature battle between teammates, while tire management was crucial on this demanding track.

Dunne accelerates, Crawford emerges

After a first half of the race that was paced but relatively stable, the tension increased with every lap. Lindblad, visibly struggling with his tires, began to fall back, allowing Dunne to seize second place with a commanding maneuver at the first corner of the 17th lap.

At the back of the leading trio, Martins, Crawford, Browning, and Fornaroli lay in wait. A skirmish between Martins and Lindblad opened the door for Crawford, who seized the opportunity to move up to fourth place. The DAMS driver then engaged in a long duel with Lindblad, initially without success.

The turning point occurred on the 24th lap, with Montoya’s PREMA stopping at the side of the track, forcing race control to deploy the safety car. With the pit lane closed, no tire changes were possible for the drivers. The restart happened three laps before the finish.

Final laps under high tension

At the restart, Martí maintained the advantage but remained under direct threat from Dunne. Further back, Browning passed Martins for fifth place while Crawford continued to harass Lindblad. The pressure eventually paid off: on the last lap, the American managed to go around the outside at turn 1 and secure the last step of the podium.

In the lead, Dunne appeared threatening in the final corners. He dived inside in the final sector, forcing Martí to defend vigorously. Both drivers found themselves side by side up to the pit lane entrance, where Dunne was slightly pushed off track. Marti nonetheless maintained the lead and crossed the line with a two-tenths advantage.

Fornaroli still leading the championship

Leonardo Fornaroli keeps the lead in the drivers’ championship with 127 points, closely followed by Richard Verschoor (123). Jak Crawford and Alexander Dunne are tied with 122 points, while Luke Browning completes the top 5 with 117 points.

In the team standings, Campos Racing takes the lead with 185 points, just ahead of Invicta Racing (184). Hitech TGR follows in third position with 167 points, ahead of DAMS Lucas Oil (148) and MP Motorsport (140).