WHAT WE LEARNED: Standout topics from our weekend in Budapest

7 August 2025

Round 10 of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season is done and everyone in the paddock has gone their separate ways as they head off for their summer breaks.

But as we continue to debrief what was a special weekend in Budapest, we are keen to look at some of the key takeaways from the three days of action…

INVICTA ARE ON A ROLL

It was a double header to remember for Invicta Racing as they took home two victories at Spa-Francorchamps, before following that up with Pole Position and a Feature Race win in Budapest.

This means the reigning Teams’ Champions are now comfortably at the top of the Standings, 42 points clear of second place Campos Racing.

On top of that, their drivers have been in tremendous form, with Fornaroli leading home Stanek in the Budapest Feature Race, a second one-two result of the weekend after the Czech driver bested his teammate in Qualifying.

This means Invicta have won in Budapest at least once on each of their last four visits to the Hungaroring.

Fornaroli heads into the summer break at the top of the Drivers' Championship

This also means Fornaroli now leads the Drivers’ Championship with 154 points and has taken a 17-point lead over Jak Crawford into his summer break.

It has been a tremendous couple of weeks for the British team, one that has put them in a strong position to seal both titles for the second year in a row going into the final four rounds.

DAMS BOUNCE BACK

After a weekend to forget at Spa, where they scored zero points for the first time since Jeddah, DAMS bounced back in style.

Crawford went to Budapest confident that he and his team understood where they had gone wrong, and it showed as they were competitive on all three days at the Hungaroring.

The American qualified third and finished in the same position in both the Sprint and Feature Race. While he had wanted to go into the summer break top of the Standings, second place is an acceptable consolation.

As for his teammate Kush Maini, the statistics might read that he scored zero points in Budapest, but that would not tell the full story.

Crawford achieved two podium finishes for DAMS at the Hungaroring

The Alpine Academy member was left to rue an unlucky Qualifying that left him starting both races from P19, but he fought back in both races, finishing ninth in the Sprint and 11th in the Feature.

After those narrow points misses, Maini will be confident of being competitive after the summer break, as will his teammate, who will have his targets set on the title.

GALLERY: Some of the best images from Round 10 in Budapest

RODIN’S MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

It seems unfair to say that on a weekend where Alexander Dunne finished on the podium in the Sprint Race, that Rodin Motorsport missed an opportunity, but looking at their double header, they might have.

Dunne was in superb form at Spa-Francorchamps, dominating both Qualifying and the Feature Race, but a post-race penalty for a starting infringement dropped him from P1 to P9.

Had the Irishman kept the win, he would have gone to Budapest top of the Standings but instead made the trip in fourth.

Dunne finished on the podium in the Sprint Race but lost ground in the Championship

Unfortunately for Dunne, he and Rodin could not quite replicate their pace from Belgium at the Hungaroring, as the 19-year-old qualified in ninth.

BUDAPEST QUALIFYING ANALYSIS: How Stanek differed from Fornaroli to take pole?

A P2 finish in the Sprint and P9 in the Feature, where each one of his four closest rivals finished ahead of him means Dunne heads into the summer break fifth in the Drivers' Championship.

Both Rodin and Dunne will know the pace is there for them to have success at the upcoming rounds, and it will be needed as he now trails Fornaroli by 30 points.