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Invicta Racing duo Gabriel Bortoleto and Kush Maini brought home a pair of points-paying positions after a chaotic FIA Formula 2 Hungarian Feature Race.
Like Saturday’s Sprint Race, conditions for the Sunday morning F2 Feature Race were far cooler than Friday’s on-track running, placing less emphasis on tyre management. Gabriel Bortoleto would start the 37-lap contest from fourth on the Soft tyre and Kush Maini would launch from ninth on the Hards.
READ MORE: 2024 FIA FORMULA 2 HUNGARY SPRINT RACE RESULTS
With Isack Hadjar starting from the pit lane, both Invicta drivers were elevated one position before lights out. Gabriel got away well and looked to challenge the top two on the run down to Turn 1, but he was left with nowhere to go, and Victor Martins surged past. But when Paul Aron locked up into the first corner, Gabriel cut back underneath to take third position. Kush, meanwhile, had slipped back to 14th by the end of the first tour.
A Safety Car deployment on Lap 7 presented the Soft tyre runners with an early opportunity to pit for Hards and Gabriel did just that, rejoining in eighth. Kush was concurrently elevated to third but had yet to make his mandatory pit stop. On the restart, Kush had to fend off Martins on fresh tyres while Gabriel took seventh from Enzo Fittipaldi around the outside of Turn 1.
The duelling pair of Amaury Cordeel and Ritomo Miyata enabled Gabriel to close in, before snatching sixth from the former, and four laps later taking fifth from the latter around the outside of Turn 2.
A second Safety Car period now presented Kush with the opportunity of a less damaging pit stop, he rejoined in 13th on Soft tyres and quickly began scything his way through the field. Kimi Antonelli also had the superior grip of the Softs at his disposal, and Gabriel had no choice but to concede second to the Italian shortly after the restart. Kush, meanwhile, had risen through the ranks to eighth with seven minutes of race time remaining.
In the closing stages, Gabriel had closed in on Martins for second, but couldn’t find a way past. He then came under pressure from Richard Verschoor on the final lap and had no answer to the superior grip of the Softs. Gabriel crossed the line in fourth, moving into third in the points standings while Kush came home in seventh.
F2 Feature Race results
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P04, 12 points
- Kush Maini: P07, 6 points
GABRIEL BORTOLETO
"We scored solid points today and we’re in a good position in the standings, but overall, I think it was a missed opportunity with Isack [Hadjar] and Paul [Aron] having bad days. I got a great start, but Enzo [Fittipaldi] was slow in front of me, so I had to back out which isn’t ideal into Turn 1. Getting past Victor [Martins] after the final Safety Car would’ve totally changed our race, but it’s so difficult to pass at this track unless you have a tyre advantage."
KUSH MAINI
"I got a poor start and that really set the tone for my race; it was an uphill battle. Although the first Safety Car didn’t play into our hands, I think the first stint was strong and we held our ground. After the second Safety Car, it was great fun to come through the field on the Softs and a decent recovery considering where we ended Lap 1. Time to look ahead to Spa next weekend."
ANDY ROCHE, TEAM PRINCIPAL
"This wasn’t one of our best days, but it certainly wasn’t one of our worst. Both Kush and Gabriel drove mature races and had good pace. Ultimately, they both scored decent points. Kush recovered well after a poor start today, and of course took his first F2 win yesterday, while Gabriel’s continued consistency has put him in a really good position in the title race. We can be satisfied with this weekend and move forward to Spa with confidence."
