Louis Sharp delivered a performance for the hustory books in Budapest, gaining a remarkable 29 positions across two races in a standout FIA Formula 3 weekend that defied expectations at the notoriously difficult-to-pass Hungaroring.
Sharp struggled with straight-line speed issues in qualifying, ending the session 28th after posting a best lap of 1:33.535.
“We really had no pace once again in qualifying – I’m not a P28 driver,” he admitted.
“It seems to be the same old issues and we’re struggling to understand what they are. Every weekend it seems to be getting worse, and we’re getting slower and slower.”
Pole position went to championship leader Rafael Camara, who set a blistering time of 1:32.510—over a second faster than Sharp.
The 18-year-old Kiwi then carved through the field with precision and confidence, moving up 12 places in the Sprint Race before launching a stunning recovery from 28th to 11th in a rain-affected Feature Race on Sunday.
The combined gain of 29 positions sets a new record for the most places gained across a single F3 round—an achievement made even more impressive given the circuit’s reputation for limiting overtaking opportunities.
Sprint Race:
It was a tight start with cars going three-wide through the opening corners, forcing several drivers to run wide off the track.
Ivan Domingues hit the side of Lauren’s Van Hoepen, going through the chicane sections, which took them both off through the gravel trap.
Sharp had a great start, improving 3 places to sit in 25th just behind his teammate Callum Voisin.
Sitting in 5th, Alessandro Guisti got hit by Ugo Ugochukwu, causing suspension damage, making him run into the grass and along the wall, ripping up signage as he went.
During the safety car to recover Guistis damaged vehicle, Van Hoepen and Dominguez chose to pit for new tyres and dropped to the back of the field.
The Rodin Motorsport duo showed strong pace, with both Voisin and Sharp overtaking Matias Zagazeta on lap 5 before continuing their charge in tandem.
Just one lap later, Sharp found an opening to pass his teammate, moving ahead into 20th position.
At the front, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made a strong start, snatching the lead off the line and pulling out a gap of over a second as the pack behind battled for second.
Later in the race, Brad Benavides ran wide and damaged the rear of his car, forcing him to slow dramatically before ultimately retiring.
Noel León and Theophile Nael had a massive shunt, which sent both cars off the track and severely damaged León, who got stuck in the grass and had to be recovered.
Following a Safety Car period that bunched the field up for a final-lap restart, Sharp made the most of the opportunity. He got a strong jump and passed Noah Strømsted for 17th, before gaining another position as Martinius Stenshorne dropped back late.
Sharp crossed the line in 16th, an impressive gain of 12 positions from his starting spot—more than any other driver in the race.
Feature Race:
A wet track meant the feature race got underway with a rolling start.
Early on, Tim Tramnitz struck the Turn 7 curb awkwardly, spinning out of a points-paying position before recovering further down the order.
Sharp made a strong start, overtaking three drivers, including Voisin to climb to 25th. The Kiwi continued his charge, passing Tramnitz two laps later and steadily reeling in Zagazeta ahead.
Sharp continued gaining positions, overtaking Tramnitz two laps later and closing the gap to Zagazeta just ahead.
At turn 12, Roman Bilinski made contact with Brad Benavides, sending both drivers spinning and ending up stuck facing backwards. While Bilinski managed to get going again, Benavides slammed into the wall, ending his race and bringing out the safety car.
A lap after the restart, Gerrard Xie collided with Ugochukwu, puncturing Ugochukwu’s rear tyre while Xie suffered heavy suspension damage. Both cars were forced to retire, prompting a second safety car period.
After a chaotic eight laps, Sharp had gained more positions than any other driver, climbing 11 places to 17th.
On lap 12, James Hedley was spun off by León but managed to recover after the pack passed and rejoin the race. León was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the incident.
Shortly afterward, Sharp seized the chance to overtake Strømsted, moving up to 12th—just outside the points and an impressive 16 places gained from his starting position.
Maintaining his strong pace, Sharp then passed Australian driver James Wharton for 11th, closing to within two seconds of race leader Inthraphuvasak.
Although he narrowed the gap to half a second, Sharp ultimately finished 11th, climbing a remarkable 17 places from 28th on the grid.
“We bounced back really well,” Sharp said.
“The fact that I was able to make up so many positions in both the dry and the wet races that even when we’re struggling with the car, I can still move forward and race well.”
Despite the ongoing challenges, Sharp once again proved his racing instincts and overtaking ability are among the best in the field—making the most of every opportunity when it counted.
Camara secured the race win from pole position, clinching enough points to seal the championship title.
Formula 3 will now pause for its summer break before returning for the final round at Monza, Italy, on September 5th–7th.
Header Image: James Gasperotti Photography
