Polesitter Timmy Hansen (Interwetten.com Junior Team) recorded his first win in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. But the big winner this weekend was Robin Frijns (Josef Kaufmann Racing). The Dutchman won yesterday and finished second today to take command of the championship, benefiting from Carlos Sainz Jr (Koiranen Motorsport) scoring no points in this race. Stoffel Vandoorne’s third place means that the podium was monopolised by drivers of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.

Timmy Hansen confirmed all the potential he showed at the start of the season by earning his first pole position in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. The Swede was accompanied on the front row by a fellow apprentice of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy, Robin Frijns. Alex Riberas and Paul-Loup Chatin (Tech 1 Racing) were on the second row.

Timmy Hansen was unperturbed by Robin Frijns at the start and led into the first corner. But while Stoffel Vandoorne passed Alex Riberas to take third place, Gustavo Menezes (Interwetten.com Junior Team) was left stuck in his tracks and Florian Le Roux (Epic Racing), Roman Mavlanov (Boetti Racing Team) and Ronnie Lundström ( Keo Racing) collided, bringing the safety car out onto the track.

There were no incidents at the restart, and Hansen retained his lead over Frijns. The Dutchman had to watch his mirrors because Stoffel Vandoorne was right behind him. And the Belgian had to keep a close eye on the chasing pack of Alex Riberas, Paul-Loup Chatin (Tech 1 Racing), Javier Tarancon (Tech 1 Racing) and Daniil Kvyat (Koiranen Mortorsport).

There was plenty of movement in this hectic quartet as Kvyat forced his way past Javier Tarancon. This led to two three-car battles: Hansen, Frijns and Vandoorne were fighting for the lead while Riberas, Chatin and Kvyat were locked in battle for fourth position.

Once again, Daniil Kvyat was the driver in the ascendancy as he aggressively fought his way past Chatin. The Frenchman dropped from fifth to seventh as Javier Tarancon took advantage of the manoeuvre to move up to sixth. But the Russian threw all his hard work away in the penultimate lap as rain began to play havoc.

At the front of the field, Hansen did enough to kill off the hopes of his rivals. The Swede recorded his first win in the category to become the fifth different winner this season. Having won yesterday and finished second today, Frijns leaves Hungary leading the championship. Stoffel Vandoorne celebrated his first podium in the category.

Drivers’ comments:

Timmy Hansen: “We’ve been working a long time for this win. It’s really a team win and we will celebrate it together. The last lap in the rain was tough. Even though I like sliding, it’s not nice leading a race and having no grip.”

Robin Frijns: “Like yesterday, today was important as I’ve opened up the gap to my rivals. I knew I needed to score points. Timmy Hansen did not make a mistake, so I settled for second place.”

Stoffel Vandoorne: “I’m pleased with this podium, because we’ve got so close before, but we’ve never managed to put it all together to achieve it until now. I hope this will trigger even better results for me in the final part of the season.”