India’s Kush Maini promoted to top in Sprint Race in Budapest, becomes first Indian to win F2 race

Budapest:  Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini on Saturday became the first Indian driver to win a Formula 2 race, inheriting the top position in the Sprint Race in the Hungarian Grand Prix after winner Richard Verschoor was disqualified from the results. Following the conclusion of the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race in Budapest, Trident’s Verschoor was disqualified after a technical investigation found an irregularity in his car.

A post-race report by the FIA Technical Delegate indicated that the plank on Car #22 had a maximum thickness of 3.7mm at the most rearward scrutineering hole, below the minimum specified thickness in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Technical Regulations, the FIA said in a statement on Saturday. It was determined that the plank fitted to Verschoor’s car was indeed below the minimum thickness required, therefore breaching Article 3.4.3 of the Technical Regulations, and Car 22 was thus disqualified from the Sprint Race classification.

Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar was also promoted to the final podium position and earned the point for the fastest lap, while Juan Manuel Correa of DAMS Lucas Oil now takes the final point in eighth place.

Earlier, Verschoor claimed a well-earned victory at the Budapest Sprint Race, putting in a mature performance after losing the lead early on to claim his fourth win in Formula 2. The Dutch driver was able to pull away from Kush Maini at the end on his way to the top step, with the Invicta Racing driver crossing the line in second ahead of ART Grands Prix’s Victor Martins in third.

Maini has remained in the second position as he started on the front row with pole-sitter Verschoor. Andrea Kimi Antonelli fired up his Soft tyres from P4 and went around the outside of the Invicta car at Turn 2, to take second.

By the end of Lap 5, Antonelli was over two seconds clear out front, while Maini was beginning to close in on Verschoor for P2, with Martins just behind on his Softs. But as the drivers set off on Lap 11, what had been a lead of over two seconds for Antonelli had now been closed to 1.6s, as the Hard tyre runners began to come into their own.

Further back, Maini had also created a gap of over two seconds to Martins, who was now defending from Dennis Hauger in the battle for P4.

On Lap 13 of 28, Hadjar used DRS to get ahead of Bortoleto for P7, while Hauger had dropped back from Martins and had fallen to P6 behind Fittipaldi. Verschoor was now right on the back of Antonelli as they started Lap 16, but the PREMA driver was resisting each attack. However, he could not hold on much longer, running wide at the final corner before locking up into Turn 1, allowing both Verschoor and Maini through.

By the final lap, Verschoor had built a two-second gap out front and crossed the line to take his fourth Formula 2 victory ahead of Maini, with Martins taking the final spot on the podium. Hadjar ended up in P4 ahead of Hauger and Colapinto, with Aron making his way through to P7 as Barnard rounded out the points in P8.

–IANS