2020 Hungaroring Sprint Race

The 2020 Hungaroring Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2020 Budapest Formula 2 Race 2, was the sixth race of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged at the Hungaroring near Budapest, Mogyoród, Hungary on 19 July 2020. The race would see Luca Ghiotto secured Hitech Grand Prix's maiden victory, after boldly deciding not to change tyres in a battle dominated by tyre degradation.

Callum Ilott would start the race from pole position after claiming eighth place in the 2020 Hungaroring Feature Race, and duly launched off the grid to secure the lead at the start. Ghiotto would maintain second after a duel with Louis Delétraz on the brakes for turn one, while Nikita Mazepin and Dan Ticktum streaked up from the back of the top ten to complete the top five.

Ilott went on to dominate the early stages, building a 3.6 second lead before the end of the opening tour as Ghiotto kept Delétraz at bay for second. Behind, Ticktum's race was ruined by a mechanical issue, costing him five laps in the pits, while Mick Schumacher picked his way up into the top three, with teammate and Championship leader Robert Shwartzman stalking him.

Indeed, the two Premas, as well as Ilott, were the fastest cars in the field, although almost everyone was complaining of high degradation on their hard Pirelli tyres. Delétraz was the first to abandon his starting rubber, followed by Ilott and Schumacher on the following two laps, before the majority of the field bundled in for new softs.

Only Ghiotto and the ill-fated Giuliano Alesi were left out on track, running one-two but both having to preserve their tyres. It was a brave gamble, for as the race entered its final throes Ilott was lapping five seconds a lap faster than the Italian, but faced a huge 34 second lead to destroy.

With two laps to go the gap stood at twelve seconds, and a stunning effort by Ilott saw the British racer get onto the back of Ghiotto's Hitech as they entered the final sector on the final lap. That setup a drag race out of the final corner, with Ilott having the aid of better traction, and DRS.

Ultimately, however, Ilott would not get to challenge, with Ghiotto acing his exit out of the final corner to secure his first win of the campaign, as well as the first for Hitech in F2. Schumacher would chase them across the line in third ahead of teammate Shwartzman, with Mazepin, Delétraz, Jehan Daruvala and fastest lap setter Guanyu Zhou securing the remaining points.

Background
There were no changes to the Hungaroring ahead of the Sprint Race, although the track was not as rubbered in as it had been after overnight rain. There were also no changes to the expected grid once the final results of the 2020 Hungaroring Feature Race were published, meaning Callum Ilott would start the race from pole, while Feature winner Robert Shwartzman would start from eighth.

Sequential Shwartzman
Shwartzman had become the first driver to claim a second victory of the campaign after his Feature exploits, which had therefore enhanced his Championship lead. Indeed, the Russian racer would head into the Sprint Race with an eighteen point advantage over Callum Ilott in second, meaning he would still hold the lead regardless of the result. Behind, Christian Lundgaard had slipped thirty points behind in third, Dan Ticktum had remained in fourth, while there were just four drivers left having yet to score in 2020.

In the Teams' Championship it had been a very strong afternoon for Prema Racing on Saturday, after they had smashed through the 100 point barrier with their double podium. They had hence leap frogged UNI-Virtuosi in second to secure the Championship lead, instead swapping places with former leaders ART Grand Prix to leave the French squad in third. Behind, DAMS had held fourth, four ahead of MP Motorsport, while Hitech Grand Prix had leapt from tenth to sixth.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:
 * * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.

Grid
The grid for the Sprint Race was formed from the finishing positions from the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA Formula 2 Championship rules:


 * * Nissany received a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision during the 2020 Hungaroring Feature Race.

Race
Conditions at the Hungaroring were a fair improvement ahead of the sixth race of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship, although overnight rain had ensured that the circuit was damp off of the racing line. Regardless, the majority would start on the medium compound of slick Pirelli tyres, although many teams were considering the potential to make a mid-race stop, after the dramatic effects of tyre degradation during the Feature Race. There would also be no changes to the grid, with Roy Nissany's five-place grid penalty from the Feature having no impact on the order.

Report
Pole sitter Callum Ilott made a strong start to secure the lead, easing across to the middle of the circuit to defend his position into the first corner. Behind, Louis Delétraz would briefly hold second, having notably started on the soft compound tyres, only for Luca Ghiotto to come charging past from fifth on the grid. Ghiotto went on to try and challenge Ilott around the outside of turn one, only for Delétraz, who had fended off the attentions of the second Hitech of Nikita Mazepin through turn one, to come back at him on the exit.

That fight would last through turn two and into turn three, with Delétraz bravely hanging on around the outside of the former to reclaim second on the inside of the turn three kink. Ghiotto would, however, get a better run through the slippery right-hander, and duly drafted back past the Swiss racer on the run to turn four. Behind, the rest of the field would make it through the first few corners of the race without issue, as Ilott bolted at the head of the field.

Indeed, come the end of the opening tour Ilott would establish a three second lead, largely due to the continuing battle between Ghiotto and Delétraz that was only settled when the Italian broke clear at the end of the lap. With that the race began to settle down, with Mazepin stalking Delétraz for third, while Dan Ticktum remained in touch in fifth. That quartet was then stalked by the two Premas of Mick Schumacher and Robert Shwartzman, while Giuliano Alesi completed the early top eight.

Indeed, the two Premas were the cars to watch in the early stages, with Schumacher leading Shwartzman past Ticktum as they moved up the field. Ticktum himself would struggle with a power issue, which ultimately saw the Brit limp back to the pits after losing almost all drive out of turn twelve. He would pit for a cure at the end of lap two, remaining in for five laps before rejoining at the back of the field, as Schumacher led Shwartzman onto the back of Mazepin.

Schumacher duly moved past Mazepin with an excellent lunge around the outside of turn two on lap six, before darting away to catch Delétraz. Four laps later and the German racer was bearing down on the Swiss racer, and duly dived right around the outside of the #11 Charouz into turn one for third. That move would also allow Mazepin to challenge around the outside of turn two, although Delétraz would elbow the #24 Hitech wide to hold the position.

By that stage Delétraz's tyres were in a very poor condition, and at the end of the following tour he would be powerless to prevent Mazepin from powering past through the final corner. A lap later and Shwartzman would ghost past the #11 Charouz down the start/finish straight, prompting Delétraz to abandon his tyres at the end of the lap for a fresh set of mediums. Out front, meanwhile, Ilott was holding his three second lead over Ghiotto, with Schumacher slowly catching them until his pace stalled shortly after half-distance.

Once Schumacher's pace began to drop off Prema would take decisive action, calling the German racer in for a fresh set of soft tyres at the end of lap seventeen. Unfortunately for the German racer it would be a slow stop due to an issue with the front left wheel being troublesome to fit, meaning he would drop back behind Delétraz when he rejoined. However, his hopes of victory were not over, for his stop would prompt an en-masse sweep into the pits for fresh tyres over the following few laps.

Indeed, Ilott would bail from the lead at the end of the following tour to take a fresh set of softs, after Ghiotto had begun to push the Brit out front. Shwartzman was also an early convert for softs, with Mazepin in a lap after them, with both rejoining behind Schumacher. Shwartzman duly attempted a brave move around the outside of Mazepin through turn five, with light contact between the two almost causing the Russian racer to be spat into the outside wall, although he reacted quickly to hold on.

With five laps to go everyone who was going to stop had done so, with just two drivers having opted against stopping for fresh tyres. Those two were hence left in first and second, with Ghiotto leading by 26 seconds over Alesi, while the #16 BWT HWA was only a couple of seconds ahead of Ilott. Indeed, the Frenchman was powerless to prevent the Brit from diving ahead on the brakes into turn twelve, with Ilott quickly sprinting away to chase Ghiotto.

As Ilott set about his bid for the lead, there would be further revisions to the field, with Shwartzman diving past Daruvala into the first corner to secure sixth, with Mazepin stalking them. Up ahead, Delétraz would catch onto the back of Alesi on lap 24, although the Frenchman was able to hold him at bay long enough to allow Schumacher to close onto the back of the Swiss racer. Indeed, the German racer was desperate to make up for lost time, and duly threw the #20 Prema down the inside of Delétraz through the final corner to claim fourth.

A few moments later and Schumacher was drafting past Alesi with ease into the first corner to secure third, with the #16 BWT HWA unable to respond. Delétraz would then dance the #11 Charouz around the outside of Alesi through turn two, with Shwartzman also taking fifth away from Alesi into the turn six/seven chicane with ease. A lap later and Mazepin would also fire past the #16 BWT HWA, while Shwartzman managed to wrestle his way past Delétraz down the inside of turn two, having danced the #21 Prema around the outside of the Swiss racer through turn one.

Into the final couple of laps and Ilott was throwing everything he had at Ghiotto, lapping over four seconds a lap quicker to destroy the Italian racer's lead. Into the final lap and Ghiotto lost two seconds in the first sector alone, and come the end of the second sector Ilott was right onto the Italian racer's tail. That setup a sprint to the chequered flag out of the final corner, with Ghiotto a couple of tenths ahead, but with Ilott having superior traction and a brief burst of DRS.

Ultimately, however, Ilott would fall half a second shy of a famous victory, with Ghiotto's tyres just lasting long enough to carry him across the line to secure the win, the first for Hitech in their debut season. Behind, Schumacher claimed a distant third ahead of Championship leader Shwartzman, while Mazpein chased the Premas across the line to claim fifth. Delétraz was next up in sixth ahead of Daruvala, while a late flurry of passes carried Guanyu Zhou into eighth to claim the final point.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Ticktum was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

 * 75th FIA Formula 2 Championship start for Louis Delétraz.
 * Also Delétraz's 75th entry.
 * Sean Gelael and Luca Ghiotto made their 75th F2 entries.
 * Seventh career victory for Ghiotto.
 * Hitech Grand Prix claimed their maiden F2 victory.
 * Also their second win at GP2/F2 level.
 * This was their first GP2/F2 level win since the 2005 Spa Feature Race.

Standings
Robert Shwartzman rounded out the weekend in Hungary with a healthy Championship lead, having moved eighteen clear at the head of the hunt. Callum Ilott had held onto second with 63 points, while Christian Lundgaard retained third on 43. Mick Schumacher, meanwhile, had risen to fourth ahead of Dan Ticktum, with eighteen of the twenty-two drivers on the scoresheet.

Prema Racing rounded out arguably their best weekend since the introduction of the Dallara F2 2018 at the head of the Championship table, leaving Hungary with 120 points to their credit. UNI-Virtuosi were sat in second, six shy of the 100 point barrier on 94 points, while a pointless Sprint Race for ART Grand Prix had left them in third on 77. Hitech Grand Prix were next up after claiming their maiden victory, while DAMS rounded out the top five having made way for the rookie squad.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.