Callum Ilott will start Saturday’s FIA Formula 2 feature race from pole position for Virtuosi after topping a shortened wet qualifying at Budapest.
While many drivers spun on a slippery track, Ilott – who sits joint second in the standings – set a best time of 1m50.767s to jump ahead of previous pace setter Luca Ghiotto before red flags brought an early end to the session with four minutes remaining.
The red flag – the second of the session – was caused by a spin into the gravel for Jehan Daruvala. The Carlin driver had set the pace in the first few minutes before an early red flag due to a spin for Guilherme Samaia, but ended up in 15th.
Ghiotto was second fastest for F2 rookies Hitech, with Guanyu Zhou in third to once again underline Virtuosi’s strong pace so far this season.
Williams F1 development driver Dan Ticktum was fourth for DAMS, ahead of Prema’s Mick Schumacher, who is looking to bounce back this weekend from a difficult start to the season.
Christian Lundgaard, winner last time out, was sixth ahead of ART team-mate Marcus Armstrong.
Campos driver Jack Aitken was eighth, just four thousandths of a second quicker than the second DAMS of Sean Gelael.
HWA’s Giuliano Alesi, who topped the earlier free practice session, was tenth, with championship leader Robert Shwartzman qualifying down in 11th for Prema.
Qualifying results
| 1 | Callum Ilott | Virtuosi | 1m50.767s |
| 2 | Luca Ghiotto | Hitech | +0.308s |
| 3 | Guanyu Zhou | Virtuosi | +0.523s |
| 4 | Dan Ticktum | DAMS | +0.612s |
| 5 | Mick Schumacher | Prema | +0.817s |
| 6 | Christian Lundgaard | ART | +0.962s |
| 7 | Marcus Armstrong | ART | +1.195s |
| 8 | Jack Aitken | Campos | +1.729s |
| 9 | Sean Gelael | DAMS | +1.733s |
| 10 | Giuliano Alesi | HWA | +1.800s |
| 11 | Robert Shwartzman | Prema | +1.948s |
| 12 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz | +1.962s |
| 13 | Pedro Piquet | Charouz | +2.103 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | Carlin | +2.448s |
| 15 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | +2.521s |
| 16 | Nikita Mazepin | Hitech | +2.695s |
| 17 | Artem Markelov | HWA | +2.802s |
| 18 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | +2.816s |
| 19 | Marino Sato | Trident | +2.891s |
| 20 | Roy Nissany | Trident | +3.969s |
| 21 | Nobuharu Matsushita | MP Motorsport | +5.102s |
| 22 | Guilherme Samaia | Campos | no time |
Feature image credit: @VirtuosiRacing official twitter
