Oscar Piastri is one step closer to Formula Renault Eurocup glory after picking up a race win in the category’s visit to the Hungaroring.
It was a mixed weekend for the Australian after he failed to start the round’s first race, losing control of his car during the formation lap.
It was a rare and unfortunate mistake for Piastri, who had started the round on a high after topping the charts in the pre-race test and the round’s practice session.
However the teenager bounced back 24 hours later in sensational fashion to pick up the race win, cementing himself as a title favourite after extending his lead to 37 points over Frenchman Victor Martins.
In Sunday’s beautiful conditions, Piastri was in no mood to mess around, storming to pole position and posting the fastest lap time during the untroubled race
Despite having a slow start to the race where Piastri faced some early pressure from teammate and fellow title rival Alexander Smolyar, the youngster managed to twice pull away from the rest of the field after separate safety car incidents.
The Victorian eventually crossed the line two and half seconds ahead of Smolyar, while Martins rounded out the podium.
“The team has been really good these past two weeks. We had pace in every session both last weekend and this,” Piastri said.
“I had an off session in qualifying on Saturday. I wasn’t pushing very hard on the way to the grid for race one, the car just aquaplaned and once I got grip I had too much lock on, so it threw me into a spin.
“It was frustrating but I got lucky with the race only being given half points, so I only really lost what would have been four points for sixth place.
“On Sunday I had solid pace in qualifying and that carried over into the race. Once I built up a gap it was pretty much plain sailing, though my start wasn’t amazing, so I have to work on that for the next few rounds.”
Thanks to Saturday’s race being red flagged due to safety concerns, victory on Sunday and clean sweep of wins in Germany earlier this month, Piastri now heads in to the final three rounds with a healthy lead at the top of the table.
“From now it’s about being consistent,” Piastri added.
“Winning races is a good way to be consistent but where I can still improve is when things aren’t quite perfect.
“I need to make life easier for myself, making sure I am around the top three. If I can do that it should pay dividends by the end of the year.”
The series has a two week break before heading to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain at the end of the month for the third last round on 28-29 September.
Motorsport Australia acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present.