F3 Hungary: Bedrin leads AIX 1-2 as title battle tightens

Nikita Bedrin became the 10th different race winner of the Formula 3 season with his victory in the sprint race at the Hungaroring.

After starting in second, the Russian made his move on lap one, running around the outside of Prema driver Dino Beganovic at Turn 2 before completing the move at Turn 3.

Although championship contending Beganovic put pressure on, an error on lap 10 forced both of the leaders wide and allowed Bedrin’s AIX team-mate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to steal past into second, making him the first Thai driver to stand on the F3 podium as he picked up his first points of the season.

It was also the first podium and race win for the rebranded AIX Racing outfit.

The race got off to a delayed start with an extra formation lap required after Joseph Loake (Rodin) was unable to shuffle into his grid slot after initially lining up on the wrong side of the grid.

When the lights went out and Bedrin made his move at the front, things were relatively well-mannered throughout the field. This lasted for only half a lap, however, as contact between Mari Boya (Campos) and Matías Zagazeta (Jenzer) coming together on the exit of the Turn 6-7 chicane, with the latter retiring with suspension damage.

In the brief virtual safety car period that followed, there was further drama as Nikola Tsolov (ART) made contact with the rear of Santiago Ramos’ Trident, with the two drivers both pitting with damage. For his trouble, Tsolov was also handed a 10-second penalty.

Upon the restart, the race settled into a familiar DRS affair, with the top 20 drivers all in a single train come the chequered flag.

Lap 10 saw Beganovic do well to hold onto his Prema when clouting the kerb at Turn 2 while lunging on Bedrin for the lead, something that caused both drivers to run wide with the former coming close to spinning out of contention.

Beganovic was, however, the highest placed championship contender and is now 31 points off the lead, with his Prema team-mates Gabriele Mini and Arvid Lindblad both failing to score in 14th and 15th respectively.

Luke Browning recovered from having his fastest qualifying time deleted due to causing a red flag in the Friday session to score three points in eighth, something that lifts him to second in the drivers’ standings, with six points covering the top three.

Fourth place overall is Leonardo Fornaroli, who will start from third on Sunday with Mini the best-placed of his rivals in 13th. Pulling back four points on leader Mini with a seventh-place finish, the Italian will be hopeful of clawing back significant ground in the feature race.

1	N. Bedrin PHM AIX Racing	27		18
2	T. Inthraphuvasak PHM AIX Racing	26		18		1.500
3	D. Beganovic Prema Powerteam	1		18		0.600
4	T. Tramnitz MP Motorsport	7		18		0.500
5	C. Mansell ART Grand Prix	23		18		0.800
6	C. Voisin Rodin Motorsport	29		18		0.500
7	L. Fornaroli Trident	4		18		0.400
8	L. Browning Hitech Pulse-Eight	14		18		0.600
9	L. Van ART Grand Prix	24		18		0.500
10	S. Meguetounif Trident	5		18		0.400
11	O. Goethe Campos Racing	10		18		0.700
12	N. León Van Amersfoort Racing	20		18		0.600
13	M. Stenshorne Hitech Pulse-Eight	15		18		1.000
14	G. Minì Prema Powerteam	2		18		0.800
15	A. Lindblad Prema Powerteam	3		18		0.400
16	M. Esterson Jenzer Motorsport	18		18		1.900
17	C. Wurz Jenzer Motorsport	17		18		0.600
18	M. Boya Campos Racing	12		18		0.600
19	S. Montoya Campos Racing	11		18		0.400
20	A. Dunne MP Motorsport	9		18		0.600
21	C. Shields Hitech Pulse-Eight	16		18		0.400
22	J. Dufek PHM AIX Racing	28		18		3.900
23	S. Flörsch Van Amersfoort Racing	21		18		0.400
24	P. Wiśnicki Rodin Motorsport	30		18		0.900
25	T. Smith Van Amersfoort Racing	22		18		0.500
26	J. Loake Rodin Motorsport	31		18		13.300		1
27	K. Sztuka MP Motorsport	8		18		26.800		1
28	S. Ramos Trident	6		18		1.000		1
29	N. Tsolov ART Grand Prix	25		18		9.600		1
dnf	M. Zagazeta Jenzer Motorsport	19		17						Retirement