Minì Wins Budapest Sprint as Tsolov’s Championship Lead Shrinks to Sixteen Points

Gabriele Minì won the F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race and claimed the bonus point as the fastest eligible finisher, cutting Nikola Tsolov’s championship lead from 27 points to 16. Tsolov’s race ended after contact with Sebastián Montoya at Turn 1, with the Stewards later finding the Campos driver predominantly to blame and converting a 10-second penalty into a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s Feature Race. Dino Beganovic finished second for DAMS Lucas Oil, with Laurens van Hoepen third for TRIDENT. Roman Bilinski set the outright fastest lap from 18th place but was ineligible for the bonus point.

Key Points: F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race

• Gabriele Minì wins the F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race for MP Motorsport, claiming the bonus point as the fastest eligible finisher
• Dino Beganovic completes the podium in second for DAMS Lucas Oil, Laurens van Hoepen third for TRIDENT
• Roman Bilinski sets the outright fastest lap of the race, 1:30.989, from eighteenth on the road, but finishes outside the top ten and is ineligible for the bonus point
• Sebastián Montoya starts from pole for PREMA Racing, with Minì winning from P2 after passing him for the lead at Turn 2 on Lap 17
• A Virtual Safety Car is deployed after the Lap 21 incident and withdrawn entering Lap 23. Noel León is separately handed a five-second time penalty for a VSC infringement
• Nikola Tsolov and Sebastián Montoya both retire after contact at Turn 1, Tsolov on Lap 21 and Montoya on Lap 20
• The Stewards find Car 6 predominantly to blame, converting a 10-second penalty into a five-place grid drop. Tsolov starts the Feature Race from P12
• Tsolov’s championship lead over Minì is cut from twenty-seven points to sixteen, 161 to 145
• Campos Racing’s Teams’ Championship lead narrows to fifty-six points over MP Motorsport, 230 to 174

Race Recap: F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race

The Start

Montoya held off Minì and the rest of the chasing pack into Turn 1 from pole, but Tsolov was on the attack immediately and up to third by the exit of the first corner. Câmara also made ground, up to sixth from ninth on the grid.

Minì Closes In

With DRS enabled, Minì began cutting into Montoya’s lead, sitting around a second back by Lap 5 as the leading nine drivers broke clear of the rest of the field. He was within DRS range by Lap 8 and forced a defensive move from Montoya into Turn 1, though the order held. Tsolov remained over a second off the front two, unable to press home an advantage.

Minì ran within a second of Montoya for several laps, but by Lap 13 it was Tsolov cutting down the deficit to second, closing back into DRS range of Minì after saving his tyres in the early stages.

The Lead Changes Hands

Lap 17 brought the move that decided the race. Minì got the drive he needed out of the final corner, used DRS down the straight and forced Montoya into a lock-up under defence into Turn 1. He covered the Colombian off into Turn 2 to take the lead. Tsolov had a lunge of his own at Turn 1 the following lap, the pair nearly making contact, but Montoya held on to second for the time being.

Turn 1, Lap 21

Tsolov’s second attempt did not go the same way. Late on the brakes into Turn 1, he and Montoya made contact. Montoya was out on the spot. Tsolov’s car suffered race-ending damage of its own. The Virtual Safety Car came out immediately, and Noel León was put under investigation for an infringement committed during it.

To the Flag

The VSC was withdrawn entering Lap 23 with Minì 2.3 seconds clear of Beganovic. León wasted no time making up ground, switching back on Duerksen at Turn 2 to take seventh on Lap 25 before his five-second penalty for the VSC infringement was confirmed. Van Hoepen, promoted to third after the Montoya-Tsolov collision, ran wide at Turn 4 on Lap 26 and handed Câmara back his DRS, though the Brazilian couldn’t find a way past.

Minì was never troubled once he had the lead, taking his second win of the season. Beganovic and van Hoepen completed the podium, Câmara fourth ahead of the ART pair of Maini and Inthraphuvasak. Duerksen held off a last-lap charge from Stenshorne to keep seventh, the Norwegian rounding out the points in eighth. Minì’s best lap of 1:32.731 on Lap 26 stood as the quickest inside the top ten and sealed the bonus point. The outright fastest lap of the race went to Bilinski, a 1:30.989 from eighteenth on the road, a benchmark nobody inside the points could match.

The Stewards’ Verdict

The Stewards heard from both drivers and their team representatives after the race, and reviewed video evidence, onboard footage and GPS data from the Turn 1 incident. Their conclusion: Car 6, Tsolov’s Campos Racing entry, was predominantly to blame for the collision.

The penalty handed down was a 10-second time penalty, converted under Article 39.3(b) of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations into a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s Feature Race. Tsolov now starts from P12. Every driver who qualified behind Car 6 moves up one grid position as a result.

Final Classification: F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race

Fastest lap: Roman Bilinski, 1:30.989, Lap 24.

Championship Standings: F2 Budapest Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race

Tsolov’s Drivers’ Championship lead over Minì narrows to sixteen points after Budapest.

Campos Racing’s Teams’ Championship lead over MP Motorsport narrows to forty-five points.

Coffee Corner Take

Losing points off the board is one thing. Losing them at Turn 1, with the Stewards putting the greater share of the blame on him, is a harder one for Tsolov to take into Sunday.

Minì still had to finish the job though. The win and the bonus point were his to take, but it’s Tsolov’s retirement that turned a good afternoon into a real swing at the top of the standings.

Buried under both of those stories: Beganovic’s second place barely got a mention an hour after the flag. It also moves him above León and into fifth, the kind of result that shapes a title fight quietly while everyone’s looking at Turn 1.

Fifty-six points still separate Campos from MP Motorsport in the Teams’ standings. Healthy, but not what it was before lights out today. Tsolov from P12 either claws it straight back or hands Minì another afternoon to close it further.