GP2 – Hungary – Race 2: Nobuharu Matsushita wins ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne

Honda’s protégé had delivered a high-quality first race to make up for missed qualifications as he climbed from 21st place to 8th place. With the reverse grid system, the Japanese driver found himself in pole position, a crucial advantage on a track as narrow as the Hungaroring.

He took full advantage of it. Thus, for once, he made a very good start and was not threatened approaching the first corner. Behind him, Stoffel Vandoorne also got off to an excellent start, allowing him to already be in second place at the first corner. Another impressive start came from Sergey Sirotkin, who started 6th thanks to his third place from yesterday. By the second corner, the Russian managed to find an opening on Raffaele Marciello and thus found himself back in third place on the podium.

But the most remarkable start progression goes to Sergio Canamasas, who started in the last position. At the end of the first lap, he found himself in 10th position, gaining 15 places in a single lap on a circuit where overtaking is nearly impossible! Nevertheless, he quickly fell back and ultimately finished 16th.

At the front, the two ART Grand Prix drivers clearly had no intention of making it easy for each other. They set a very high pace, but it was not without consequences: very quickly, they were forced to preserve their Pirelli tires, which showed signs of wear as early as the ninth lap. They had to ensure that the competition didn’t catch up to them. The Belgian driver had to defend against Sergey Sirotkin’s attacks right up until the final lap. ART Grand Prix was thus able to savor its first one-two finish since Monza 2010, when Jules Bianchi and Sam Bird drove for the French team.

As for his main rival for the title, Alexander Rossi, he experienced a decidedly difficult weekend. The American saw his tires give out quite quickly, which forced him to make a pit stop. Consequently, he finished 19th and scored no points, allowing Rio Haryanto to surpass him in the championship. The McLaren driver’s lead has increased further as he now has 194 points, compared to only 109 points for the Indonesian.