FORMULA 2: De Vries masters rain to take pole in Hungary

FIA Formula 2 Championship leader Nyck de Vries showed exactly why he’s so highly rated amongst this year’s paddock, pulling out a perfect performance in a rain-hampered Qualifying session in Hungary on Friday to take pole position, ahead of his closest rivals, Luca Ghiotto and Nicholas Latifi.

De Vries had been seen testing track limits on his first flying lap and battled with his title rivals for pole from the start, Ghiotto lapping just 0.061s slower in the opening stages. The Italian twice wobbled on further tours as the rain took its toll, and he was unable to topple the Dutchman.

Williams Formula 1 test driver Latifi had more luck, briefly snatching P1 at the halfway point by 0.242s, as he eyed his first pole in the category. De Vries came into his own with less than 10 minutes to go and pulled out three perfect purple sectors to smash the Canadian’s time and break the 1m 50s barrier.

The continually rejuvenated Ghiotto had one last shot at toppling him, but couldn’t match the precision or pace of his rival and settled for second, ahead of Latifi.

With the three main championship contenders sitting at the top of the field and the potential for further downpours, tomorrow’s Feature Race could prove to be the tightest yet.

For full results, visit the official F2 website.