Preview – F3 Round 8 – Budapest 

Round 8 of 10 takes the Formula 3 Championship to the Hungaroring near Budapest on 19-21 July.

With only three rounds remaining, all of them on European circuits, the scene is set for a fantastic fight to the finish iin the title stakes.

Luke Browning dropped to third following a challenging weekend at Silverstone; however, the delta to first place is relatively surmountable at only seven points, and he is currently only one point adrift of the runner-up spot. As we’ve seen through the course of a season that has seemingly flown by, things can change in a heartbeat, so with six races remaining to add to the points tally, there’s still everything to play for in the Drivers’ standings, as well as the Teams’ top 3.

The Williams Academy driver will be looking for successful Sprint outcomes to match his impressive showing in the Features, and boost his trophy count of two wins, two podiums and a generally impressive haul of points.

Martinius Stenshorne is back and eager to make tracks in the final three rounds, his solid Sprint performances having so far delivered a win and a podium.

Cian Shields will be eager to get points on the board after a disappointing outing at his home race two weeks ago.

The teams are unlikely to face the same changeable weather posed by the British Grand Prix. Budapest is unceasingly scorching in July and the forecast is for highs of 33°C during the weekend. That translates to very high track and cockpit temperatures and given the nature of the circuit – requiring full focus throughout the lap – the Hungaroring presents an altogether different challenge.

Often dubbed “Monaco without walls”, the 4.381-kilometre loop set in a natural basin is a series of incessant bends and a single straight line, that of the pits, which makes overtaking really tricky. There are 14 corners, six left and eight to the right, some of them being 180° turns. Despite being relatively slow and narrow, there’s no let-up, so it demands everything you have as a driver.

The track tends to be dusty due to the summer heat and otherwise infrequent usage, so the emphasis is on good corner entry and traction, setting the car up to afford maximum grip for the track conditions.

Friday 19 July

09:55 Free Practice

15:05 Qualifying session

Saturday 20 July

09:50 Sprint Race (19 Laps)

Sunday 21 July

08:25 Feature Race (24 Laps)

Grid set by reversing Top 12 of Qualifying Results

All times local