Filipe Albuquerque has launched himself into title contention with a first World Series by Renault victory at the Hungaroring, the Portuguese driver earning the second win of the year for Epsilon Euskadi.
Making the most of a better tyre strategy, Albuquerque stayed out longer than most of the front runners and once he returned to the circuit back in the lead managed to hold a comfortable advantage to the finish line.
Chaos reigned at the start, pole sitter Guillaume Moreau getting away well to lead from Albuquerque, Giedo van der Garde, Fairuz Fauzy and Miguel Molina, while his fellow front row sitter Alvaro Barba got bogged down and swamped by the field.
Worse was to follow for the Spaniard when he was forced to retire midway round on the first lap, joining Bertrand Baguette, Carlos Iaconelli, Alex Ciompi and Michael Herck on the list of first lap casualties, all involved in separate incidents.
With the safety car on circuit and circulating for six laps, Moreau dived into the pit lane at the first opportunity to replace his tyres, the Frenchman being joined by Miguel Molina and Davide Valsecchi too.
Albuquerque thus inherited the lead of the race where he endeavoured to pull a lead out on van der Garde, who in turn was being pressured by the fast starting Ben Hanley,
Sebastian Vettel and Milos Pavlovic.
Sensing he wasn't getting far trying to overtake on the tight Hungarian circuit, Hanley pitted on lap eleven, a move that would proved to be a shrewd one when he emerged ahead of van der Garde and Vettel when they pitted a lap later.
Albuquerque pitted at the latest opportunity on lap 15, the Portuguese driver having built up a good enough lead to pit and return to the circuit in the lead.
It was a position he would hold all the way to the finish line, the reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion crossing the line just over half a second up on Fauzy, the Malaysian driver pitting early and steadily picking his rivals off to finish a season-best second for both himself and the Cram by P1 team.
![Filipe Albuquerque - Epsilon Euskadi [pic credit: Renault Sport Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/348116.jpg)
