PREVIEW: Final stop ahead of summer break for Round 9 in Budapest

The second leg of the double header takes the FIA Formula 2 Championship to Budapest for Round 9 of the campaign.

The Hungaroring is another old-school track that will put the drivers to the test and help shape the Championship fight as the title battle continues to take shape.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of Round 9 in Hungary.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The weekend begins with Free Practice on Friday morning, with the green light scheduled for 11:05 local time.

Qualifying follows later in the day with the grid-setting session and pole position shootout getting underway at 15:55 local time.

Saturday is Sprint Race Day, and the first race of the weekend gets going at 14:15 local time.

Feature Race Sunday brings the weekend and second leg of the season to a close. Lights out for that one is 11:25 local time.

Pirelli has brought the Medium and Soft compound tyres for the weekend at the Hungarroring.

STAT PACK

• Rafael Câmara will be looking to match George Russell, Nyck de Vries, Callum Ilott and Oscar Piastri with five poles in a single F2 season this weekend. Charles Leclerc holds the all-time record with eight.

• With their Sprint and Feature wins at Spa, Invicta Racing join Campos Racing as the only teams to take a clean sweep of victories at a single round so far this year.

• Nikola Tsolov has an active scoring streak of eight races heading into Budapest, finishing outside the top five just once since the Monte Carlo Sprint Race

FROM THE GRID – Roman Bilinski, DAMS Lucas Oil

"Budapest is a very flowing track, I think it's a very cool place. To be able to hook up a lap there is very difficult but feels amazing when you do it. The best place to overtake is T1, unless someone's really struggling with deg or makes a mistake, Turn 1 is the best opportunity.

"The heat is tough. It's a hot track, and that also doesn't help with tyre deg, but every track has its own challenges.

"It's also something of a home race for myself too. The Polish always go there and last year it was absolutely crazy in the fan zone. It's an amazing feeling and a round I most look forward to."

TECHNICAL PREVIEW

Pierre-Alain Michot, FIA Formula 2 Technical Director

"Downforce is the focus around the Hungaroring with each sector made up by a mix of medium-to-high speed corners.

"Tyre wear and degradation will be another factor to contend with this weekend, and with the track temperatures usually high in Budapest, drivers that can manage their Pirelli rubber the best will be rewarded.

"Qualifying will also be key, with precious few overtaking spots around the lap in comparison to other venues on the calendar. But we've seen plenty of wheel-to-wheel fights in the past and that can lead to interesting strategy calls by the teams in order to gain track position."

PIRELLI PREVIEW

The compounds selected for the Hungarian weekend are Medium and Soft, as last year. Race strategies will be directly influenced by track temperatures. The round preceding the summer break is usually the one marked by the highest temperatures of the season. Should this trend be confirmed, both options could prove manageable, offering different strategic approaches. Last year, in the Feature Race, eight drivers started on the Medium and fourteen on the Soft. The latter suffered slightly from graining, as the race took place after rain had lowered the temperatures. If this year the track remains below 30°C, we expect graining could once again occur, favouring those who opt for the harder compound. Conversely, with high temperatures, the use of the Soft could prove difficult in the Sprint, particularly in the closing stages of the shorter race.