A magnificent Noel León claims victory in Hungary. Nikola Tsolov scores valuable points to retain championship lead
Campos Racing enjoyed another highly successful FIA Formula 2 weekend at the Hungaroring, which hosted the eighth round of the championship as part of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Thanks to Noel León’s victory, the Alzira-based team has now claimed nine wins from the eighteen races contested so far this season. At the circuit known as the “Monaco without walls”, the Mexican celebrated his third victory of the campaign and his first in a Sunday Feature Race. Nikola Tsolov’s weekend became significantly more complicated on Saturday when a penalty compromised his chances for Sunday’s race. Nevertheless, the Red Bull Junior Team driver fought his way back into the points, securing a vital result in both the Drivers’ Championship battle and the Teams’ standings.
The drivers first took to the track on Friday morning for the Free Practice session. Tsolov finished fourth fastest after completing fifteen laps, setting a best time of 1m30.857s. León, meanwhile, stopped the clocks with a fastest lap of 1m31.338s.
One of the key moments of the weekend came later that afternoon with the qualifying session, more important than ever given the difficulty of overtaking at the Hungaroring. Track temperatures gradually dropped as the session progressed, reducing their overall influence. Within Campos Racing, Tsolov and León opted for different approaches, with the Bulgarian heading out first while the Mexican waited for a clearer track. Tsolov posted a 1m29.601s on his opening run, provisionally putting himself at the top of the timesheets. However, when those following the alternative strategy completed their laps, both Rafael Câmara and León improved on his benchmark, the latter moving into second place with a 1m29.486s. On his second set of tyres, Tsolov once again climbed to the top with a 1m29.313s, only to be displaced when León and the remaining frontrunners completed their final attempts. At the chequered flag, León lowered his best time to an excellent 1m29.091s, securing third place on Sunday’s starting grid, while Tsolov ultimately qualified seventh. The remarkable competitiveness of the field was underlined by the fact that seventeen drivers were covered by just one second.
Saturday’s Sprint Race featured 28 laps. With the reverse-grid format applied to the top ten qualifiers, Tsolov lined up fourth while León started eighth on a track surface approaching 50°C, presenting a stern challenge for tyre management. When the lights went out, Tsolov produced another of the lightning starts that have become his trademark this season, immediately moving into third behind Sebastián Montoya and Gabriele Minì. León, caught in the heart of the midfield traffic, completed the opening lap in tenth place. Every driver knew that preserving the tyres for the closing stages would be decisive, resulting in a cautious opening half of the race. The attacks only began after the halfway point. Minì was the first to overtake Montoya before Tsolov mounted his own challenge. The Bulgarian piled the pressure onto the Colombian and attempted a move down the inside at the end of the main straight on lap 18. With very little room available, the two cars made contact and both retired from the race, prompting a Virtual Safety Car while the stricken cars were recovered. Once racing resumed, León overtook Joshua Dürksen to move into eighth position. However, a five-second penalty for an infringement committed under the Virtual Safety Car dropped the Campos Racing driver to ninth in the final classification, denying him the chance to score points.
Sunday’s 37-lap Feature Race presented an even greater strategic challenge. Matters became even more difficult for Tsolov after the stewards imposed a five-place grid penalty, dropping him from seventh to twelfth on the starting grid. León therefore opted to start on the soft compound, while Tsolov adopted the opposite strategy by beginning the race on the medium tyres in an attempt to extend his opening stint. León made an excellent getaway, overtaking Câmara to move into second behind Kush Maini. Tsolov, despite the early disadvantage of running on the less competitive compound, also gained one position and was the third highest-placed driver among those following the alternative strategy. Maini established a strong pace from the outset, while León remained composed and focused on keeping his pursuers behind. From lap seven onwards, the balance between the two strategies began to shift as those on the medium tyres—including Tsolov—started extracting the maximum performance from their rubber and making steady progress through the field. The Bulgarian first overtook Nico Varrone before passing Montoya one lap later to climb into ninth.
Out front, Maini continued to lead with a small advantage over León. However, Campos Racing called the Mexican into the pits on lap 16 in an attempt to undercut the Indian driver. Just as León entered the pit lane, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Rafael Villagómez came to a halt on track. Green flag conditions resumed only moments later. León still had to negotiate traffic following his stop, but produced two perfectly judged overtaking moves on Oliver Goethe and then Emerson Fittipaldi without losing significant time. Câmara and Maini made their mandatory pit stops on laps 20 and 21 respectively, both rejoining behind the Campos Racing driver. The strategy had worked perfectly. Tsolov even inherited the race lead on lap 23 before making his own pit stop to switch onto the soft tyres. León reclaimed the lead once the pit stop cycle had been completed. Initially, he enjoyed an advantage of around five seconds over Maini and Câmara, but both drivers gradually closed the gap. By then, however, León was battling increasingly severe brake issues. Nevertheless, the Campos Racing driver once again demonstrated his exceptional talent, determination and composure, resisting relentless pressure to cross the finish line as a superb and thoroughly deserved winner. In the closing laps, Tsolov also completed an excellent recovery drive, overtaking Minì and Dürksen to finish seventh.
After nine rounds of the championship, Tsolov remains at the top of the Drivers’ standings with 167 points, holding a 20-point advantage over Minì. León remains fifth with 94 points, continuing to close the gap to Alex Dunne. In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing further strengthened its position at the summit and now leads the standings with 261 points, 74 clear of its nearest rival.
The FIA Formula 2 championship now enters its summer break before returning at the Temple of Speed in Monza on the weekend of 5–6 September.
