WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Contenders, tyres and temperatures

With warm temperatures predicted across the Budapest weekend, the heat will be as high as the pressure as the FIA Formula 3 season heads into the final rounds.

Budapest kicks off a double header that will lead us into the summer break, and we’ll return for the finale at Monza with the Drivers’ Championship fight looking poised to go all the way.

But in a fight that has taken twists and turns in almost every round so far, what can we expect from Round 8 in Hungary?

Lindblad on the charge

PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad made F3 history in Silverstone as he achieved a clean sweep of race victories, becoming the first driver in Championship history to do so. The Red Bull Junior Team member’s wins have catapulted him into title contention, as he is now a close second behind teammate Gabriele Minì, six points back from the 119 points of the Italian.

Lindblad’s drives were also diverse in nature, with his Sprint success coming from the front as he took the lead at Turn 1 and never looked back, escaping into the distance and out of reach of his rivals.

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On Sunday, his and everybody else’s Feature Race was anything but routine, as the weather and strategy made for an enthralling and chaotic race. The PREMA driver was as low as 22nd at one point, coming through the pack in the final nine laps to secure an unlikely but hugely impressive win.

With four wins to his name now, Lindblad has equalled the record for most wins in F3 history and he has done so in his rookie campaign. With six races and three rounds remaining, you wouldn’t bet against him from achieving the outright record either.

One final leap for Leo

Leonardo Fornaroli led the Championship earlier in 2024 but the Trident driver has slipped back in recent races as others have secured podiums and wins. His admirable consistency has him fourth in the Championship as we head to Budapest, but that is not what he will be aiming for in the remaining races.

The Trident driver is the only one of the top six in the Standings who has yet to record a victory in FIA F3, though that isn’t due to a lack of pace. Arguably his finest race of the year so far, he was unfortunate not to take top honours on home soil. Having led the way at Imola, a technical issue dropped him to third in the end.

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Fornaroli has missed the points just twice all year, stood on the podium four times which is the joint second most in 2024 so far, but has yet to stand on that top step. He will be desperate to right that record as soon as possible and is more than capable of doing so.

He was third in Qualifying last season around the Hungaroring, while 2023 teammate Gabriel Bortoleto finished P2 in the Sprint Race, so Trident have speed in Budapest.

It will now be up to him to convert that into a long awaited first victory and with the title fight so close at the top, there is never a better time than right now.

Tyre whisperers

The weather is set to be the total opposite from what the teams and drivers experienced last time out at Silverstone. The showers and heavy rain appear to be gone for now, with extremely high temperatures forecast across the Budapest weekend.

From the first time cars will hit the track on Friday, working out how to get the best from the tyres and most importantly, keep them in as good a shape as possible will be crucial for both the Qualifying lap and race pace.

Overheating the tyres is easily done around the Hungaroring, and across a race stint the degradation can make or break a race.

READ MORE: Working on the car of the future

Those that are able to treat the tyres nicely will be rewarded in the latter stages of the races, while those that can exploit the peak performance of the tyre without breaching the operating window could be on the front rows in Qualifying.

Lindblad’s Sakhir Sprint win was achieved through strong tyre management and great judgement in wheel-to-wheel battle. PREMA Team Principal Rene Rosin believes the 16-year-old has only added to his understanding since then of how to handle the tyres, so could be one to watch once again.