Hungaroring, and he did it in the most dramatic way possible.
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How the Leon F2 Feature Race win Budapest happened
Leon claimed his first FIA Formula 2 Feature Race victory on Sunday, winning in Budapest from third on the grid. It was a result that very few people predicted before the lights went out.
The Campos Racing driver got a great launch and was ahead of title contender Rafael Camara on the run to the first corner, and he trailed polesitter Kush Maini through the first stint. For much of the early race, it looked like Maini was simply too fast to catch. Maini pulled out a lead of over 5 seconds on Leon and looked set for a comfortable victory in Hungary.
But then came the moment that changed everything.
The VSC moment that changed everything
Leon made his mandatory stop on Lap 17 and was into the pit lane just as a Virtual Safety Car was deployed. It meant that with the relatively small time loss in the pits versus Maini and Camara, who made their mandatory stops under full racing conditions, he emerged from the pit stop phase effectively in the lead of the race.
That is the key detail. Leon did not simply get lucky. He had already shown a strong launch off the line from third and taken P2 from Camara into Turn 1. From there, the Campos team’s decision to pit early turned out to be the correct move. The VSC just made the margin of the advantage much bigger.
He then held the duo off in the closing stages to earn his first Feature Race victory in F2, as the top trio were covered by just 1.2 seconds by the chequered flag. It was incredibly close at the end. Leon finished only 0.8 seconds ahead of Kush Maini. Camara came home third.
It was a brilliant support act to the main Hungarian Grand Prix, which Lando Norris won in style on the same afternoon.
What it means for the F2 title fight
The Leon F2 Feature Race win Budapest did more than just give one driver a trophy. It had a real impact on the championship picture.
Nikola Tsolov retains the lead of the drivers’ championship with 167 points, ahead of Gabriele Mini in second now with 147. Rafael Camara closes the gap in third with 145 points. Alexander Dunne stays fourth on 108. Noel Leon is fifth with 94 points.
Tsolov leads, but the gap at the top is tight. Camara’s podium in Budapest keeps him very much in contention. Campos Racing lead the Teams’ Standings on 261 points and they have a healthy advantage over second-placed Invicta Racing on 187.
There was also drama earlier in the weekend. Up to Turn 4 there was contact involving Nikola Tsolov, John Bennett and Martinius Stenshorne, leaving the latter with bent steering and down the back of the pack. Tsolov had also picked up a grid penalty heading into the Feature Race, which made his recovery even more impressive. You can read more about another driver who dealt with penalties this weekend in our piece on why Hamilton’s grid penalty hurt the F1 field.
Leon F2 Feature Race win Budapest: the final standings
Here is how the top ten finished in the Feature Race at Budapest:
- Noel Leon (Campos Racing)
- Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)
- Rafael Camara (Invicta Racing)
- Laurens van Hoepen
- Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak
- Nikola Tsolov
- Dino Beganovic
- Joshua Duerksen
- Gabriele Mini
- John Bennett
What comes next for F2
The championship does not resume immediately. FIA Formula 2 returns after the summer break with a visit to the Temple of Speed at Monza for Round 10 of the 2026 campaign, from September 4 to 6. That is a long wait, but it will give every title contender time to think about what happened in Budapest.
The Leon F2 Feature Race win Budapest proved that strategy and timing can be just as important as raw pace. Maini had the fastest car on the day. Leon had the best pit stop window. In racing, that is often enough.
Keep following all the F2 action and check the full updated official F2 race results on FIA Formula 2’s website, and stay up to date with all the championship news right here on rnt-motorsports.com.
