Hungary GP2: Matsushita beats Vandoorne for maiden win

Starting from reverse grid pole, Matsushita made a clean getaway at the start to lead the pack, as runaway points leader Vandoorne went from fourth to second behind his teammate.

It seemed only a matter of time before the Belgian would seize the lead initially, coming close to passing Matsushita at Turn 1 on the third lap, but his pace thereafter proved inconsistent.

That allowed Matsushita to build a comfortable lead out front, escaping to the tune of four seconds after 10 laps. Vandoorne was subsequently able to close the gap to under two seconds, only to fade once more and fall into the clutches of Sergey Sirotkin in the closing stages.

The Russian driver, who had vaulted from sixth on the grid to third on the opening tour, came close to a pass on Vandoorne at the first corner on the final lap – but couldn’t complete the move, and was forced to settle for third behind the ART duo.

Raffaele Marciello, after a poor getaway from second on the grid, held on to fourth throughout, never able to challenge Sirotkin after being passed at Turn 2, with Rio Haryanto holding station in fifth to bank more solid points.

Pierre Gasly ran sixth for much of the race, but suffered severe tyre degradation in the closing stages, allowing Norman Nato to come through to claim sixth and Robert Visoiu seventh.

Gasly claimed the final point in eighth, one place ahead of DAMS teammate and feature race winner Alex Lynn, with Arthur Pic completing the top 10.

Both Racing Engineering drivers suffered badly with their tyres, Jordan King dropping from seventh to 12th in the latter stages and Alexander Rossi having to pit for fresh rubber en route to a lowly 19th.

Race results: