Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Nikita Bedrin took his and AIX Racing’s first FIA Formula 3 Championship victory in the Hungaroring sprint race, leading home team-mate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.
Bedrin dove into the lead early on and, other than a brief moment where he was passed by reversed-grid pole-sitter Dino Beganovic, dominated the race.
There was drama before the lights went out, as Joseph Loake lined up on the wrong side of the grid and was unable to make it to his starting spot. A second formation lap was called, reducing the length of the race to 18 laps and earning Loake a penalty.
When racing started, both AIX drivers went on the attack and Bedrin got alongside Beganovic. He came through to take the lead, and Beganovic held onto second for several laps by sticking near Bedrin but being unable to escape Inthrapuvasak behind. Callum Voisin, Tim Tramnitz and Christian Mansell were lined up chasing the podium trio.
Beganovic was able to get alongside Bedrin and briefly took back the lead, only to go over the kerbs and run wide. Both Bedrin and Inthrapuvasak came through to demote him to third.
The order at the front did not change after that, with Beganovic watching the AIX duo ahead of him for the rest of the race.
Behind, Tramnitz had come up to fourth and was under pressure from Mansell. He attempted a lunge past, the same move he had pulled on Voisin, but Tramnitz defended well.
Voisin finished sixth after soaking up pressure from Leonardo Fornaroli and Luke Browning. Laurens van Hoepen and Sami Meguetounif completed the top 10.
Despite finishing eighth, Hitech GP Driver Browning was able to move up a position in the championship standings.
Meanwhile after a difficult qualifying, Prema duo Gabriele Mini and Arvid Lindblad had an anonymous race. Mini was engaged in a battle with Noel Leon at the end of the race, but it was outside of the points places. An attempted move resulted in Mini losing out to Hitech’s Martinus Stenshorne and finishing 14th, just ahead of Lindblad.
Race results (18 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Bedrin | AIX Racing | 29m41.355s |
| 2 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | AIX Racing | +1.560s |
| 3 | Dino Beganovic | Prema | +2.189s |
| 4 | Tim Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | +2.629s |
| 5 | Christian Mansell | ART Grand Prix | +3.483 |
| 6 | Callum Voisin | Rodin Motorsport | +3.980s |
| 7 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | +4.398s |
| 8 | Luke Browning | Hitech GP | +4.909s |
| 9 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART Grand Prix | +5.488s |
| 10 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | +5.814s |
| 11 | Oliver Goethe | Campos Racing | +6.511s |
| 12 | Noel Leon | Van Amersfoort Racing | +7.183s |
| 13 | Martinius Stenshorne | Hitech GP | +8.174s |
| 14 | Gabriele Mini | Prema | +8.905s |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad | Prema | +9.367s |
| 16 | Max Esterson | Jenzer Motorsport | +11.259s |
| 17 | Charlie Wurz | Jenzer Motorsport | +11.890s |
| 18 | Mari Boya | Campos Racing | +12.434s |
| 19 | Sebastian Montoya | Campos Racing | +12.888s |
| 20 | Alex Dunne | MP Motorsport | +13.440s |
| 21 | Cian Shields | Hitech GP | +13.885s |
| 22 | Joshua Dufek | AIX Racing | +17.716s |
| 23 | Sophia Floersch | Van Amersfoort Racing | +18.100s |
| 24 | Piotr Wisnicki | Rodin Motorsport | +19.032s |
| 25 | Tommy Smith | Van Amersfoort Racing | +19.562s |
| 26 | Joseph Loake | Rodin Motorsport | +32.830s |
| 27 | Kacper Sztuka | MP Motorsport | +59.688s |
| 28 | Santiago Ramos | Trident | +1m00.617s |
| 29 | Nikola Tsolov | ART Grand Prix | +1m10.224s |
| Ret | Matias Zagazeta | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| Fastest lap: Loake, 1m35.669s
Championship standings |
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