F2/F3 Power Rankings - Potential Lewis Hamilton replacement makes major breakthrough

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Formula 2, Prema, Hungarian GP, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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F2/F3 Power Rankings - Potential Hamilton replacement makes major breakthrough

The title fights are blowing wide open after a Hungaroring round that had the front-running drivers struggle

Jim Kimberley

Tuesday 23 July 2024 21:00

Formula 2 and Formula 3 were back in action over the weekend of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with both championships showing how unpredictable they can be.

In either category, none of the main title contenders picked up victories, leaving others to pick up valuable points ahead of the remainder of both seasons.

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Mistakes, disqualifications, and tires punctuated F2 & F3's rounds at the Hungaroring in four more furious races.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton's potential replacement at Mercedes, will make headlines from his first feature race victory, but was he the top driver in the GPFans Hungarian Power Rankings?

Formula 2

Frustrated Dutch drivers leaving angry radio messages weren't just left to Max Verstappen in F1 as Richard Verschoor lost another win.

It's getting to joke levels for the Trident driver to cross the line in P1 but not retain victory, with his Sprint Race DSQ being his third 'stolen' win.

Although, yes, he was lucky with the late-race Safety Car, perhaps karma was trying to even the score for Verschoor.

Victor Martins - B+

Victor Martins' season to forget finally had some Feature Race success, with the Frenchman taking a double podium this weekend.

ART sitting P8 in the standings after taking the teams' title in 2023 is not what anyone expected, and it's unclear why they and PREMA have struggled to get on top of the 2024 chassis.

Nonetheless, Martins drove two solid races in Hungary to take nearly half of his season's points in one weekend.

It's too late for him to be a viable candidate for an Alpine 2025 drive, but he will hope this round is a turning point for his year.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli - B

You can only drive the race in front of you, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli's first Feature Race win was one that came to him rather than one he dominated.

The alternate tire strategy runners can thank Amaury Cordeel for his heavy crash in the latter stages that gifted them a cheap pit stop.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is tipped to replace Lewis Hamilton

Of course, Antonelli was already leading when the Safety Car came out because he hadn't pitted, but his job of making up places was much easier when he equipped the softs with a bunched-up field.

He was already looking set for F1, and Mercedes will point at this win as proof he's capable when they are questioned about promoting the Italian.

Formula 3

Laurens van Hoepen - B+

A maiden pole position for the Dutch rookie Laurens van Hoepen was a stellar way to start his weekend, but he'll be pained at how it ended.

The quarter-of-a-second gap to P2 on Friday didn't help on the run to Turn 1, though I wonder if he would've fought harder if his teammate wasn't the driver alongside him.

Laurens van Hoepen celebrating in Hungary

P2, pole position and points in the Sprint Race would be a strong return for Van Hoepen, but the disqualification robbed him of that Sunday podium.

As his other teammate, Christian Mansell, explained on social media, a radiator leak was the reason for the weight discrepancy, but LVH was still my F3 driver of the weekend.

Nikita Bedrin - B

Well done to AIX Racing for making the most of the reverse grid front-row start!

Nikita Bedrin might be the most underrated driver in the F3 field, yet he's taken so many surprise points in smaller teams these last two years.

The Russian racer is now an F3 race winner, and he had to go up against the might of PREMA to secure his victory.

More points on Sunday by staying in the top positions in the Feature Race solidified his placement in my top three.

ART GP - A

Hats off to whatever ART Grand Prix did in Budapest to give all three drivers such a potent car to fight with.

Nikola Tsolov has his first Feature Race win to go with his Sprint Race triumphs, Van Hoepen has a pole position, and Mansell secured points that give him a chance at the title.

There seemed to be harmony in the French outfit that kept their drivers from colliding when fighting for P1, and they took a 1-2 finish... despite the later disqualification.

Mansell, once again, showed why he's a feeder series star by stepping into the team leader role by outlining the truth about Van Hoepen's DSQ on social media on Sunday evening.