F2 Feature Race: Nikola Tsolov takes maiden race victory

Written by Liam Ploetner

Nikola Tsolov became Bulgaria's first F2 race winner | Credit: Formula 2

How Tsolov took his maiden victory

In the second and final race of the Formula 2 race weekend, it was Nikola Tsolov who took the chequered flag first, with Rafael Câmara and Laurens van Hoepen making up the final two places on the podium to create an all-rookie rostrum.

Starting on pole for the F2 Feature Race was Dino Beganovic, who finished only 20th in the Sprint Race yesterday.

Just behind the DAMS driver was the Rodin duo of Martinius Stenshorne and Alex Dunne, with Noel León and Nikola Tsolov rounding out the top five.

The 33-lap race started with a poor start for Beganovic, who was jumped by both Rodins into turn one. Tsolov slotted behind the duo in third, while Oliver Goethe and Noel León collided on the opening lap. At the end of lap one, Stenshorne led Dunne, Tsolov, Rafael Câmara and Beganovic.

Joshua Dürksen had a poor start, dropping from the top ninth to 18th. A brilliant battle at the front took place between Stenshorne and Dunne, going side by side for several corners in the final sector. It ended disastrously for the duo though, as they collided coming into turn one. Replays showed Dunne had crossed in front of Stenshorne, which caused Stenshorne to lock up into the back of his teammate.

Dunne was furious over the radio stating “I can see how this year is going to go.” Stenshorne called the Irishman “stupid” for his move. The stewards said they would investigate the incident after the race.

Tsolov now led from Câmara and Beganovic and the Safety Car came out due to the incident.

The race restarted at the end of lap five, but the order remained the same mostly. Nicolas Varrone and Cian Shields were the only drivers on Softs, with the rest of the field on Supersofts.

The pit window opened on lap six, with the first pitstops coming a lap later with the likes of Sebastián Montoya and Gabriele Minì pitting. León had a slow pitstop due to front wing damage from the first lap incident with Goethe. Roman Bilinski ran over a wheelgun on his way out of the pit box. 

A lap later, several more drivers, including Beganovic, pitted. Maini stalled, dropping the ART driver down to 19th.

The leaders pitted on lap nine, with only Varrone, Mari Boya, Emerson Fittipaldi Jr and Shields remaining on the track. Tsolov had a two second lead, with Beganovic just behind Câmara.

Montoya was given a five-second time penalty for a pit lane infringement. Dürksen was also penalised, but it was for a false start, which contributed to his poor start. He now had a five-second time penalty as well.

Câmara and Beganovic had begun battling on lap 11 for a net second place and on lap 14, Beganovic passed the Brazilian at turn nine.

The final point was currently Colton Herta’s, but teammate Miyata made a move around the outside at turn nine to move into tenth. Due to Varrone and Shields not pitting, this was for a net eighth place.

A bad weekend for Beganovic was seeming to get better, but his joy did not last long, as he had a mechanical failure on lap 16. The DAMS driver’s only points over the course of the weekend came from his pole position.

A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) came out, but Varrone and Shields could not make their pitstop, as they needed a full course Safety Car to be able to pit.

A Safety Car did come out eventually, with Shields coming out in 11th and Varrone remaining the leader. For both, it was a massive advantage for them, as they had fresh Supersoft tyres. The only question was whether or not the duo could make their tyres last the remaining 14 laps of the race. Varrone had gone up 18 places due to the pitstop. 

However, he would pick up a penalty for speeding in the pits, with five seconds getting added to his race time. AIX would also come under scrutiny for a pit lane infringement, but their case would be investigated after the race.

The top ten for the restart would be Varrone, Tsolov, Câmara, van Hoepen, Goethe, Inthraphuvasak, Montoya, Miyata, Herta and Dürksen.

Tsolov moved ahead of Varrone at the end of the first sector of the restart and, due to DRS not being enabled, Câmara got stuck behind the Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) car. Tsolov was clear by 1.4 seconds. Varrone picked up the pace however, and began closing on Tsolov. 

Shields already was losing time, dropping two seconds to 11th-placed Gabriele Minì. Lap 26 was a nightmare for the AIX driver, as he ended up going wide at turn one to avoid contact with Villagómez and dropped to 18th.

Varrone began struggling too, as Câmara finally passed the VAR on lap 27. The battle for the final podium place had four drivers involved, as Varrone now had van Hoepen, Goethe and Inthraphuvasak on his tail. On lap 29, van Hoepen and Goethe both cleared Varrone.

Inthraphuvasak could not get ahead however, and Miyata gained 1.8 seconds in one lap to pass him for what would be fifth. Miyata and Inthraphuvasak passed Varrone a lap later.

Another ongoing battle was the battle for tenth, which featured Dürksen, Villagómez, Minì and Bilinski. Minì made a mistake at the penultimate turn, running wide. Dürksen and Villagómez both had contact, with minor damage for the latter. Montoya, Herta and Dürksen also passed Varrone, which dropped him down to 10th.

A rookie podium would be the result in the end, as Formula 3 graduates Tsolov, Câmara and van Hoepen finished first, second and third. It was Trident’s first F2 podium since 2024’s Baku round. Herta took his first points finish in his second race as well.