Oscar Piastri takes Hungaroring victory after Race 1 DNF
Australian Oscar Piastri has maintained his command of the Formula Renault Eurocup championship, winning Race 2 at the Hungaroring after not making the start for Race 1.
Piastri lost control of his car in standing water on the way to the Race 1 grid. Fortunately, the race never left the control of the safety car, and only half-points were awarded to the finishing drivers.
He said “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.”
Sunday was a much different story, holding off teammate and title rival Alexander Smolyar at the race start and twice pulling clear from the field after safety car periods. He crossed the line 2.8 seconds ahead of the pack, marking his series-leading sixth victory.
Piastri said “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.”
With just six races left in the championship, the Melburnian has a 37.5 point lead in the championship standings.
“From now it’s about being consistent. 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.”
