WHAT WE LEARNED: Some of the key takeaways from Round 8 in Budapest

This weekend’s Budapest action brought another twist in the title race as the drivers put on a show across the three days at the Hungaroring.

Nikola Tsolov took victory in the Feature Race after Nikita Bedrin led home an AIX Racing one-two in the Sprint, and there are even more storylines to look at from the weekend.

So, let’s look at some of key stories from Budapest…

FORNAROLI BACK IN THE GAME

Leonardo Fornaroli came into Budapest fourth in the Drivers’ Standings trailing PREMA Racing’s Championship leader Gabriele Minì by 26 points.

After a difficult couple of rounds where he lost ground on the top three of Minì, Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad – the trio having all achieved podium results in Spielberg and Silverstone – the Trident driver hit back in Budapest.

READ MORE: Noel León's Budapest weekend in his words

Minì and Lindblad went scoreless at the Hungaroring, while Browning added three points to his tally in the Sprint Race.

But Fornaroli went big across the weekend, scoring in the Sprint, and finishing third place in the Feature. This saw him close the gap to the top three as he went to within seven points of top spot.

It was a weekend in which his consistency was rewarded and as we head to Spa for the penultimate round of the year, the Italian driver has put himself firmly back into the mix.

AIX HAVE TWO DAYS IN THE SUN

AIX Racing came into the weekend at the bottom of the Teams’ Standings on eight points, but they left the Hungaroring with a good haul of points that has pushed them up to ninth.

The team have felt for a while that they had pace but could not put it together, but they finally did in Budapest, starting in Qualifying when Joshua Dufek led Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Bedrin for a 1-2-3 on the first runs.

BUDAPEST WEEKEND ANALYSIS: How Fornaroli caught up with his title rivals

With a late Red Flag, they were not able to improve on those times, but they were good enough for them to qualify in the top 12, although Dufek was later disqualified post-session for a technical breach.

But his teammates were starting near the front of the grid in the Sprint Race, and they took their chance with Bedrin giving the team their first victory, while Inthraphuvasak followed him across the line for a one-two.

It means that every team on the grid has now achieved a podium and after a difficult campaign for AIX, that result would have meant the world.

ART’s FEATURE RACE TRIUMPH

ART Grand Prix took the most points as a team from Budapest, strengthening their grip on second place in the Championship.

Their form since Monte Carlo has been outstanding, as the only time they did not score more than double digit points on a weekend was at Silverstone where changeable weather conditions caused havoc.

The French outfit have found a way to consistently get their three cars into the best positions and they did that again in Budapest.

READ MORE: Fornaroli confident heading to Spa after ‘positive’ Budapest weekend

As plenty of the top runners in the Championship ran into issues in Qualifying, ART kept things simple, allowing them to take Pole Position with Laurens van Hoepen, with Tsolov in second and Christian Mansell in eighth.

They would convert this into solid points in the Sprint Race, although Tsolov dropped to the back after sustaining damage.

The Bulgarian then took the lead in the Feature and led van Hoepen across the line before the rookie was disqualified for his car being underweight, with Mansell putting in a measured performance to finish fourth.

This left their Team Principal Sébastien Philippe pleased as while the result is great, he is happy with how they are operating as a unit following a down 2023 campaign where they finished eighth.

Tsolov’s victory is their first in the Feature Race since 2022 and it helps put them on 225 points, 97 adrift of leaders PREMA Racing. With two rounds to go, catching them will be a tall task, but ART will be delighted with how things are going.

NOEL’S TOP 10 CHARGE IS ON

There may not be many drivers happier than Noel León at this present moment in time, especially since the in-season test and the return to familiar circuits in Europe.

READ MORE: Philippe urges ART to keep pushing after Tsolov’s Budapest victory

The Van Amersfoort Racing rookie got off to a slow start, going without scoring at the first two rounds in Sakhir and Melbourne.

But is easy to forget that he was fastest on the opening day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain venue. While that may not be too representative, looking back it was an early sign of his promise in Formula 3 machinery.

We have seen that pace since the return to Europe, as he finished on the podium straight away in the Imola Sprint Race.

That form has continued with points finishes a regularity now, while two more podiums have been added, one at the Silverstone Sprint Race and now in the Budapest Feature.

The Mexican’s form has also been there over one lap, usually seen in the battle for Pole Position, and this week he turned his best Qualifying performance, P4, into a second-place finish at the Hungaroring.

It puts him on 52 points and 11th in the Drivers’ Championship, just one point off 10th. León has stated his aim is to finish in the top 10 and on current form, it would be hard to bet against him doing it.