It was the perfect start to the weekend for Matteo De Palo at the Hungaroring, where the Italian driver clinched his second victory of the season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at the conclusion of Race 1. The Trident driver delivered an unstoppable pace on the Hungarian track, securing not only his maiden pole position earlier today but also setting the fastest lap during a race he controlled from lights to flag.
Alongside De Palo’s commanding performance, which allowed him to retake the lead in the championship standings, Pedro Clerot also shone with a faultless drive that saw him maintain second position all the way to the chequered flag. This strong result, his third consecutive podium finish, earned the Brazilian valuable points in the title fight, where he now occupies fourth place overall.
Equally noteworthy was the race of Enzo Deligny, who managed to gain a place in the opening laps and repeatedly closed in on the mirrors of Clerot’s No. 22 Van Amersfoort Racing car, though without finding an opportunity to pass. The R-ace GP driver nonetheless secured his third podium of the year, underlining a season that is proving particularly successful for him.
Applause also goes to Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing), who finished fourth after a race-long battle with teammate Freddie Slater, the latter crossing the line in fifth.
A solid run, too, for Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) in sixth, ahead of Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix), who brought his car home in seventh. Rounding out the top 10 were Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident), and Nikita Bedrin. The latter received a five-second time penalty after the race for forcing Jack Beeton (Prema Racing) off track at Turn 1 during a hectic phase of the race, a move that ultimately cost the Saintéloc Racing driver his top-10 finish and promoted Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing) to tenth, with the Indian driver also stepping onto the podium as the winner among the rookies. Furthermore, Bedrin’s car was later disqualified due to a technical non-conformity.
The race was twice neutralised by the safety car: first following contact at Turn 2 between Edouard Borgna (G4 Racing) and Saqer Al Maosherji (Akcel GP), with the latter’s car left stranded in an unsafe position, and again in the closing stages when rookie Edu Robinson (G4 Racing) came to a halt at Turn 1.
The series organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing will return to the track tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM for the second qualifying session of the weekend, which will be broadcast live on the official YouTube channel and on the TV networks covering the championship, including ACI Sport TV (channel 228 on SKY).
Matteo De Palo (Trident)
“I’m really happy. We struggled in Zandvoort, but today we were dominant. The car felt amazing, and the pace was unreal. We just had to stay focused during the safety car, but apart from that, we pulled away. Big credit to the team for the hard work. Maintaining this pace isn’t easy, but when the car feels like this, it helps a lot. Tomorrow I’ll try to repeat this performance and go for another win.”
Pedro Clerot (VAR)
“Very happy today. We maximised everything in qualifying and the race. Matteo and Trident were on another level, but we’ll analyse and work for tomorrow. It was tough to manage the tyres and defend with these temperatures, but in the end, our pace was good. Without the Safety Car, we were lapping close to Matteo. For tomorrow, I’m confident again. We’ll focus on finding a bit more time and try to improve further.”
Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP)
“It was a good race. We started P4 and finished P3. It’s hard to overtake here, but our pace was strong. I made a move in Turn 1 to get third and had a couple of chances to pass Pedro, but it was difficult. After the safety car, there was a lot of pickup on the tyres, which made restarts tricky. Once we got going, we were able to attack and keep good pace. For tomorrow, I’m confident. We’ll be in the second qualifying group, which should be faster. If we put everything together, we definitely have a chance for pole.”
Dion Gowda (VAR)
“I love this circuit. We had strong pace in free practice but made a few mistakes in qualifying. Still, recovering so many positions and finishing in the top ten was a good result. The changing temperatures make it tricky, so it’s about adapting quickly. Since Misano, our race pace has been strong. Qualifying is where we need to improve, but I’m sure our time will come.”
Go to the results page:
https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/budapest-2025
