Like in Formula 1, the start of summer was busy for the Formula 2 championship, with three races in three weekends. France-Austria-Great Britain: a sequence that will undoubtedly remain one of the highlights of this season.<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, the 20 drivers of the lineup met at the Hungaroring to wrap up the first part of the season, marked by eight meetings.<\/p>\n
The Big Series of Russell<\/b><\/p>\n
The ART team’s driver benefitted the most from the aforementioned triptych. Coming off a weekend with zero points in the Principality, 4th overall, the Briton first got back on track at Le Castellet by winning the main race on Saturday, after mastering changing weather conditions. He repeated this performance at the Red Bull Ring the following Saturday: George Russell asserted himself as a good manager, waiting for Artem Markelov’s (Russian Time) regulatory stop, who pitted only four laps from the end. The Briton officially took the championship lead the next day during the sprint race, and it was a fine effort. Starting seventh, Russell passed five cars in the first seven laps, notably overtaking his main rival, Lando Norris (Carlin), right from the first corner at the start. He finished in second place behind the winner, Artem Markelov.<\/p>\n
. His beautiful series was also completed by a second place in the main race at Silverstone, despite a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and a botched pit stop by his mechanics, leaving the victory to Alexander Albon (DAMS). Also competitive against the clock, with three poles in these three meetings, this string of good results was the strength of George Russell<\/a> who scored 108 points on this occasion… compared to 44 for Albon and 35 for Norris, his current pursuers in the drivers’ championship.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the general leader struggled in Hungary, bringing back only a single point, gained during the sprint race. This underperformance is primarily due to mechanical issues, with a clutch failure forcing him to start from the pit lane, leading to his subsequent retirement. He thus remains under threat from his main pursuers, with Norris being the primary one.<\/p>\n Lando Norris remains at a good distance<\/b><\/p>\n Yet one of the youngest drivers on the grid (18 years old), the McLaren prot\u00e9g\u00e9 is nonetheless brimming with talent. Victorious in the inaugural race in Bahrain, Lando Norris draws his strength from his consistency, with 14 points finishes in 16 races, including 7 podiums. By comparison, Russell has only finished in the top 10 on 11 occasions.<\/p>\n However, the Carlin driver complained about some race incidents that prevented him from doing better. He can only blame himself at Silverstone, stalling in the pits, completely ruining his race and his weekend with the reverse grid system.<\/p>\n Second in the main race before that in Austria, Norris nonetheless showcased the extent of his talent in the rain at the Hungaroring, still in the context of the main race.<\/p>\n Sixth on the grid, he demonstrated breathtaking driving and executed some spectacular overtakes. He took the lead in the tenth lap by overtaking Sergio Sette Camara, the poleman, after an offensive across several corners; the switch to dry conditions deprived him of victory. Caught by a stratospheric lap from Nyck de Vries (Prema), Norris maintained his second place amidst the chaos, benefiting from the Fuoco (Charouz Racing)-Camara (Carlin) collision right behind him, in the penultimate corner of the race! The next day, he also gained seven additional points on George Russell. Let’s remember that Norris is just a rookie in the discipline and managed to win right from the first race in Bahrain! This Friday at Spa-Francorchamps, we will even find him in Fernando Alonso’s McLaren during FP1.<\/p>\n A little further down the overall standings, **Alexander Albon** must not lose hope. He also scored big in Hungary, with 25 points. He can aim for the title, in his capacity as an outsider. He benefited from Russell’s penalty in Great Britain to take his second victory of 2018, [after Baku and the main race]( “\/gp2\/2018\/actualite\/22652-F2-Azerbaidjan-Alexander-Albon-et-George-Russell-lemportent.html”). After scoring just two points in France, Albon performed in Austria: 16 points, 27 in Great Britain, and 25 in Hungary. Winner of the last race, the sprint at the Hungaroring, the British driver has reignited his championship and that of his team, the French outfit Dams. He is now 30 points behind the leader before the restart this weekend.<\/p>\n Alexander Albon stormed to a dramatic victory in Sunday’s @FIA_F2<\/a> sprint race in Budapest <\/p>\n And this was the move that allowed him to grab P1 from Luca Ghiotto late on \ud83d\udc4f #RoadToF1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/63oPJddM9t<\/a><\/p>\n\n