WHAT WE LEARNED: Some of the key takeaways from Round 7 in Budapest

From Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater's fight to PREMA Racing's improvements - Here are a few storylines we picked from Round 9 in Budapest

Round 7 in Budapest was one for the historic books as the championship fight took a twist.

Freddie Slater and Ugo Ugochukwu went wheel-to-wheel in a gripping Feature Race, but there were many storylines also taking place at the Hungaroring weekend.

So as we head into the summer break, here are the main takeaways from our visit to Hungary.

THE TOP TWO PUT ON A SHOW

Slater and Ugochukwu came into the weekend separated by one point in the latter’s favour. Both knew that whoever finished ahead would be leading the championship going into the break.

On Friday, it was advantage to the Briton who qualified in P2, while the Campos Racing driver was down in P6.

Moving on to the Sprint, Ugochukwu looked to have the upper hand, climbing up into the top five while Slater was down in ninth.

Ugochukwu (L) and Slater (C) battled for the win and the championship lead in Budapest

But the American received a five-second time penalty and had a massive drop off in performance as his tyres degraded, dropping him to P17, as Slater tied him on points by finishing in 10th.

That set up a Sunday showdown as the TRIDENT driver took the lead early on once Tuukka Taponen pitted with a puncture. Ugochukwu on the other hand pulled off a stunning double overtake on Brando Badoer and Mattia Colnaghi to get up to second.

The two rivals were locked in a tight battle for the final half of the race, and while Ugochukwu’s pace looked strong Slater consistently found a way to keep him at bay.

The Audi Development Driver did enough to win for the first time in Formula 3, and to also take the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.

As for Ugochukwu, after a run of three races without scoring points, a return to the podium was much needed. But for the first time this season, he left arace weekend behind in the Driver's Standings.

It sets up what should be an incredible two rounds of battling in Monza and Madrid, and there is still plenty to play for.

Taponen took his first F3 pole position in Budapest as MP's resurgence continues

MP BACK IN THE GROOVE

Coming of the back of a third-place finish in the Teams’ Championship in 2025, this season has been a tough one for MP Motorsport.

The Dutch team had 32 points after the first five rounds of the year, but across the Spa-Francorchamps and Budapest weekends, they scored 70.

Mattia Colnaghi finished in P4 in four consecutive races, while Tuukka Taponen took pole at the Hungaroring. Without a puncture caused by his collision with Slater, he might have won the Feature Race.

In addition to that, Alessandro Giusti has also been competitive and had things played out differently, the French driver might have scored a few more points.

But after a tough start to the season, MP seem to be back in form and with two rounds to go, and with an additional race in Madrid, they still have time to achieve more strong results.

Wharton and Sharp flew through the field in the Feature Race to finish in the points

PREMA’S STRONG RACE PACE

It was a difficult Friday for PREMA Racing with James Wharton down in P15, Louis Sharp in P19 and José Garfias in P22.

But there was a lot for them to be proud of in the races, as Wharton finished eighth in the Sprint, while both Sharp and Garfias moved forward as well in P12 and P15 respectively.

In the Feature Race, Wharton moved forward to P9, with Sharp just behind in P10 as Garfias placed P13.

It confirmed what PREMA had been saying for a while, which is that their race pace is very good, but their Qualifying form is still not where it needs to be.

At a track like Budapest, where it is so difficult to overtake, for all three of their drivers to move forward is a great sign for the team.

But as they head into the summer break, they will be keen to find more performance on Fridays in Monza and Madrid, to set them up better for Saturday and Sunday.

Yamakoshi impressed with a drive to the points from last in the Feature Race

DRIVER OF THE WEEKEND CANDIDATE

Hiyu Yamakoshi has been one of the drivers of the season so far and he showed why in the Budapest Feature Race.

The Japanese rookie had a difficult Qualifying, struggling with an issue that left him in P30, before being disqualified from the results after a breach of parc ferme rules.

This left Yamakoshi with a tall task to score points in both races, especially around a track where it is difficult to overtake. But on Sunday, he went from last to P10.

It is an impressive performance on its own, but when you consider the number of Safety Car stoppages, and the lack of full racing laps, the VAR driver was truly impressive.

Yamakoshi may have only scored one point, but to go from last to P10 is worth a shoutout.

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