Nikita Bedrin, PHM AIX Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton
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 pass at Turn 3.
Although championship contending Beganovic put pressure on, an error on lap 10 of 18 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 initially relatively well-mannered throughout the field. This lasted for only half a lap, however, as contact between Mari Boya (Campos) and MatÃas Zagazeta (Jenzer) at the exit of the Turn 6-7 chicane caused the latter to retire 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 machine, 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.
Beganovic did well to hold when clouting the kerb at Turn 2 on lap 10 while lunging on Bedrin for the lead, the attempted pass causing both drivers to run wide with the former coming close to spinning out of contention.
Dino Beganovic, Prema Racing
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Beganovic was, however, the highest-placed championship contender in third 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.
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Source: Autosport