Hitech F2 squad claim fourth consecutive double points finish
Round 9 - Budapest - Report
Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic claimed P4 and P7 in Sunday’s Formula 2 Feature Race, marking the fourth consecutive event in which the team has secured a double points finish. Dino also picked up a point in Saturday’s Sprint Race, making it a personal double points haul for him. It was a strong performance at Hungaroring that leaves the team encouraged as they head into the summer break.
Qualifying at the Hungaroring brought mixed results for the pair, as Luke posted the fourth-fastest lap, securing a second-row start for the Feature Race, while Dino would line up on row seven.
Saturday’s Sprint Race began with a strong opening stint from both drivers. Dino gained four places to move up to P10, while Luke dropped to P6 but managed his tyres well through the middle phase before launching a late assault. On Lap 25, he made a decisive move down the inside of Turn 1 to retake P5 from Martins, where he would cross the line. Dino held on to finish P10. However, following the application of post-race penalties, Luke was demoted to P12 and out of the points, while Dino was promoted to P8 to claim a valuable point.
The focus then shifted to the main event, Sunday’s 37-lap Feature Race. A rain shower earlier in the morning meant the Formation Lap was run behind the Safety Car due to lingering damp conditions, but the race itself began on slick tyres, Luke on the Soft and Dino on the Medium.
With their respective compounds, both drivers enjoyed attacking first stints. Luke was in a battle with Crawford for third, while Dino, who was going long on strategy, passed first Villagómez and then Meguetounif before inevitably succumbing to those on the softer tyre.
The Williams Academy driver was one of the first to stop, switching to the medium tyre on Lap 15. When the first round of pit stops had shaken out, Dino was leading the race for a time before pitting on Lap 25.
Equipped with new Soft tyres, the Ferrari Academy junior was in attacking mode and on Lap 29 he made a lovely controlled move past Dunne for ninth. A lap later, he pulled off another move on Goethe, before setting his sights on Lindblad, but in the end he finished in seventh place, claiming a further seven points to bring his Round 9 tally to eight.
Luke Browning:
“It was a very positive result today, and I'm really happy with P4. It puts us in a good place heading into the next races. I’m looking forward to the summer break now before regrouping and getting ready for Monza.”
Dino Beganovic:
“A good race here in Budapest from P14. We had great pace on both the prime and option tyres, and the pace this weekend has been a big improvement from previous rounds, so I have to thank the team for their hard work.”
Dino continued:
“I didn’t do a good enough job in Qualifying. I couldn’t put the lap together when it mattered, which put us on the back foot for the races. But we made a good comeback with good pace and were able to score points in both races, which is really positive.
“We’re heading into the summer break with some good points in the bag, which is a nice feeling.
Luke, leading the Hitech charge in the Drivers’ Standings, moves back up to fourth place, while Dino adds valuable points to close in on the top ten. In the Teams’ battle, we remain third. Although the gap to the lead has widened again, the team sits just six points behind second place.
The Formula 2 community will now enjoy a long summer break before returning for the season finale at Monza from 5-7 September.
