Step One Automotive Group athlete, Juan Manuel Correa, showcased a wet weather masterclass at the Hungaroring after battling from 26th to sixth at the Budapest-based circuit.

The 22-year-old made progress in both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Feature Race to take eight points from the fifth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

After facing a disrupted qualifying session, Juan Manuel started the reverse grid race from 18th and secured a strong start to ascend to 16th in challenging wet conditions.

A crash for David Vidales caused an early Safety Car, and following the race’s resume, a second collision between Brad Benavides and Ido Cohen led to its reappearance.

When the race was restarted on lap eight, Juan Manuel lost further ground but regained 16th position by passing Alexander Smolyar.

By next overtaking Pepe Martí and Jonny Edgar, he was closing in on the top 10 and gained a further two positions on the final lap when Jak Crawford and Arthur Leclerc came to blows.

After taking 12th, only 1.6 seconds adrift of the top 10, Juan Manuel entered Sunday’s Feature Race with an enhanced understanding as wet weather again prevailed.

Although he fell from 18th to 20th on the opening lap, the American-Ecuadorian driver remained at the heart of the battle and opted to make a rare pitstop as the track’s conditions improved.

With a dry line emerging, Juan Manuel gambled to swap his race-starting Wet tires for a set of slicks on lap 15 of 24 and, despite rejoining in 26th, quickly acclimatized to the evolving environment.

He performed an impressive 20 overtakes in only ten laps to return to the top 10 and took sixth at the chequered flag with five passes on the final lap.

“Overall, Budapest was a very tough weekend, and a red flag compromised our qualifying, which meant that we had to fight from the back in both races,” said Juan Manuel.

“From 18th on the grid and in wet conditions, I made decent progress in the Sprint to finish 12th.

“In the Feature Race, we had wet conditions again, and I decided to gamble by pitting onto the slicks with about ten laps to go.

“This decision paid off; I finished sixth and scored some decent points. I enjoyed the race a lot. “It’s a happy ending to a bittersweet weekend, and although we have a lot of work to do, I think our potential has been good.

“We’ll take the positives from this weekend into the summer break, get some rest, and then come back for Spa with our batteries fully recharged.”

After amassing 30 points, Juan Manuel holds 13th in the Drivers’ Championship, with Formula 3’s current campaign set to resume on 27-28 August at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.