Formula 2: Fornaroli overcomes penalty to lead Invicta Racing 1-2 in Hungary

Written by Jasmin Low

Formula 2 joined the Formula 1 circus for a final time before the Summer Break, taking on the Hungaroring for the 10th round of the 2025 season. Leonardo Fornaroli negotiated a drying track to take the win from second on the grid, despite being handed a 5-second penalty. 

Leonardo Fornaroli claimed his maiden Feature Race victory at the Hungaroring | Credit: Formula 2 via X

What happened in the dry

After winning last week’s Feature Race in Spa, Invicta Racing’s Roman Staněk continued his flying form by taking the all-important pole position. The Czech driver beat his teammate Leonardo Fornaroli to the top spot by 0.146s, headlining a 1-2 in qualifying for the British team. Jak Crawford bounced back from a tough outing in Belgium to take third, keen to maximise his results after walking away from Round 9 without scoring a point. 

Saturday’s Sprint Race ended in dramatic fashion, as a late Safety Car brought the field close together just in time for the final few laps of the race. The Campos Racing duo of Pepe Martí and Arvid Lindblad led the field throughout the initial stages of the race, before Lindblad’s tyres fell away, leaving the Briton to fend off the chasing pack. Martí managed to fend off championship contender Alex Dunne to convert reverse-grid pole into the win, going wheel-to-wheel through the last lap. Jak Crawford executed a last-lap overtake on Lindblad to take third, picking up valuable championship points. 

Heading into Sunday’s Feature, the top 4 in the championship were separated by just 7 points, with Leonardo Fornaroli occupying the top spot ahead of Richard Verschoor, with the duo of Crawford and Dunne both tied on 122 points. 

As it Happened

After rain fell over the Hungaroring in the hours preceding the race, the track surface was wet off of the racing line, forcing the 22-car grid to tiptoe their way around the circuit, sporting a mix of soft and medium tyres.   

Like the F3 race prior, the Stewards decided on a rolling start, leaving Staněk to lead the charge toward Turn 1.

As DRS was enabled on Lap 2, Luke Browning set his sights on the DAMS of Crawford ahead. Arvid Lindblad proved the importance of occupying the dry line, making his way past the Rodin of Dunne despite being on the yellow-walled medium tyre. 

Victor Martins dropped down the field on Lap 3, winding up outside the points-paying positions after suffering an issue with his ART. 

Browning went side-by-side with Crawford throughout the fourth tour of the circuit, temporarily snatching third before running wide at Turn 2, handing the position back to the American. 

Ritomo Miyata brought out a brief Yellow Flag after suffering a spin, before Amaury Cordeel tumbled down the field with smoke pouring from the rear of his Rodin Motorsport machine, prompting a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) on Lap 6.

Amaury Cordeel came to a halt on Lap 6, triggering the first of 2 VSC periods | Credit: Formula 2 via X

With the race neutralised, racing resumed heading into Lap 8, with Lindblad immediately making moves, gaining two places in the space of two corners. 

Kush Maini was dealt a 5-second time penalty for an infringement under the Safety Car which had led the field around through the Formation Lap. 

Martins’ woes continued as the Williams Academy Driver came to a halt on-track, leaving his ART stranded in the middle of Turn 12. The VSC was called out once again, crucially closing pit entry and forcing the field to continue on their original tyres. 

As the Green Flags flew once again, Lindblad found himself immediately alongside his fellow Red Bull Junior Team member Oliver Goethe, before the latter ran wide, losing out to the Briton and losing places to Dunne and Joshua Dürksen in the process. 

Much of the field was summoned to the pit lane as the Invicta Racing duo headed into Lap 15, trading in their worn tyres for fresher, faster rubber. 

Gabriele Minì sent John Bennett spinning off at Turn 5, forcing the Van Amersfoort driver to retire in the pit lane with rear suspension damage.

Staněk and Crawford pitted from the front on Lap 16, however, Crawford suffered a slow stop, losing precious time in the process. After pushing ahead for an extra lap, Fornaroli managed to pull off an undercut on his teammate, exiting the pits with a 5-second gap to Staněk and the net race lead. However, the Italian was dealt a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, which was set to be added to his time at the end of the race.

Out front, Lindblad led the field on the alternate strategy, boxing on Lap 24 but exiting the pits behind the Hitech of Browning after facing a slow stop. The Campos pair both struggled to maintain track position whilst getting their soft tyres up to temperature, entering into battle with Dunne and Dürksen who had been scrapping for the net points-paying positions throughout the entire race. 

With 10 laps to go, Lindblad snuck past Goethe, moving into eighth. The next lap, Crawford went side-by-side with Staněk, allowing Fornaroli to escape up the road. By Lap 29, the gap to Fornaroli was stretched to over 5 seconds, meaning that he would retain the race win. 

Fornaroli made his way by Miyata who was yet to pit with the help of DRS, now first on the road.

Dino Beganovic started on a late charge throughout the closing stages of the race, battling Lindblad for seventh after setting the fastest lap of the race. The 17-year-old put on an impressive defensive display, holding off the Swede all the way to the line. 

Invicta Racing celebrated a 1-2 finish after Staněk managed to fend off Crawford, but it was Fornaroli who would take to the top step of the podium. After finishing in third, Crawford achieved his second podium of the weekend, adding precious points to his tally. 

The Championship

With the 25 points awarded to the race winner in his back pocket, Fornaroli extends his championship lead, sitting on 154 points. Crawford moves up into second on 137 points, pushing Verschoor down to third.

Invicta Racing now hold a convincing lead in the Teams’ Championship, with 231 points compared to second-placed Campos Racing’s total of 189 points. Hitech are just 6 points further back on 183 points, rounding out the top three.

Formula 2 will return in a month’s time to tackle the Temple of Speed, heading to Italy for Round 11 of the 2025 season.