WHAT WE LEARNED: The key takeaways and talking points leaving Round 9 in Budapest

It was another thrilling weekend of FIA Formula 2 action as the title battle took another twist, and we got a new Feature Race winner on Sunday.

Through all the battles, here are a few of the big-ticket items picked out of the weekend as we go into the summer break.

THE TOP THREE PULL CLEAR

While the Championship leader Nikola Tsolov had something of an off weekend in Budapest, his closest rivals took full advantage to close the gap in the Standings.

Gabriele Minì was left disappointed with his P9 Qualifying result, which put extra emphasis on his Sprint Race performance with the MP Motorsport driver going from the front row on Saturday.

While he couldn't claim the lead of the race in the first half of the Sprint, the Alpine Academy driver remained patient, took his time and applied the pressure when the moment arrived.

Sebastián Montoya drove an aggressive first stint of the race as he looked to pull clear and out of DRS range to the MP driver behind.

However, when the tyre performance tilted in favour of Minì, he was clinical, forcing a lock-up from the PREMA Racing driver and he was into the lead. Nobody looked like stopping him from there, even before Tsolov's contact with Montoya that put both on the sidelines.

Rafael Câmara was in a strong position on Sunday, going from P2 himself while Tsolov and Minì started further back in the pack.

The Brazilian was unfortunate to lose out to Noel León in the pit stop phase as the Campos driver profitted from a Virtual Safety Car at the perfect time for his race.

Still, another podium in P3 helped him close the gap to the pair ahead of him in the Standings, while Tsolov was able to put points on the board with a seventh-place finish.

READ MORE

• Nikola Tsolov's Budapest Weekend Debrief

It leaves fourth-placed Alexander Dunne cut adrift going into the break after a poor weekend by his and Rodin Motorsport's high standards.

An issue in Qualifying that was out of his hands left him down the order around a circuit where overtaking is extremely tough, and it was an uphill battle from there. He fought back to P11 on Sunday, but missed out on valuable points.

The Irishman is now 37 behind Câmara in the Championship and 59 back from Tsolov. It's not an impossible hill to climb, but the trio ahead of him in the order look to be making their chances count now.

CAMPOS IMPRESSES (AGAIN)

The team that can't be stopped at the moment – Capmos Racing are going from strength to strength this year, as they added another Feature Race victory to the tally in 2026.

Noel León's Feature Race victory was the Spanish outfit's ninth overall of the season already, and they’re only one shy of PREMA Racing’s all-time record of 10 in a single Formula 2 campaign.

While Tsolov has won the lion's share of the team's victories, León's third P1 of the year was on the back of a superb comeback drive at Spa that was ultimately for nought as he was disqualified post-race for a Sporting Regulations infringement.

He was clearly emotional underneath the podium in his post-race interview, demonstrating just how much the win meant to him after his hard work this season.

With 10 races still to go, you certainly wouldn't bet against Campos going on to better the wins record and set one of their own.

READ MORE

• Noel León: 'Luck went our way but we deserved it' after Budapest victory
• Van Hoepen: 'Podium and points a great way to repay the team'

TRIDENT ON THE UP

After a torrid weekend at Spa, Laurens van Hoepen bounced back in style as he claimed P3 in the Sprint Race and then fourth in the Feature event.

It was quite a turnaround from one week prior, after he finished his Spa weekend in the barriers in dramatic fashion, leaving the mechanics with a major rebuild job heading into Budapest.

The Dutch driver made their efforts worthwhile though, adding some more silverware to take back to the workshop. Meanwhile teammate John Bennett was also in the points on Sunday for the first time since his Spielberg Sprint win.

It leaves TRIDENT on 83 points going into the summer break, currently ranked seventh in the Teams' Standings and on course for their finest F2 season to date.

The current becnhmark remains their 2022 season, when 108 points earned them P9 overall. On current form, they look like bettering both their record tally and best finish in the Championship.