Tsolov, Maini penalised after F2 qualifying in Abu Dhabi; revised grid order

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Following the 30-minute Formula 2 qualifying in Abu Dhabi, Campos' Nikola Tsolov and DAMS racer Kush Maini have received penalties for their respective infringements during the session.

Tsolov faces a three place grid drop for both races | Credit: Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

Tsolov had gotten in the way of Hitech's Luke Browning at the entry to the winding Turn 9 left-hander during qualifying. This forced the Briton, on a fast lap, to take quick avoiding action, swerving to the left as Tsolov pulled over to the right hand side, off the racing line into the corner.

The stewards noted this incident, and investigated Tsolov for impeding Browning during the session. Eventually, hours after the session came to an end, Tsolov was found guilty of having impeded Browning, which led to the latter aborting his flying lap. The Campos driver receives a three-place grid drop for the sprint and feature races this weekend, leaving him starting 12th for both races.

Elsewhere, Kush Maini had the fastest laps on his second set of tyres deleted, following a rookie mistake by DAMS. The team had sent Maini out for his final flying runs with the rear tyres fitted to the incorrect side of the car. The tyre meant to be on the rear left was situated on the right hand side of the car, and vice versa.

DAMS were also flagged after qualifying for this infringement, with Maini's fastest lap of the session deleted as a result, leaving him down in 20th, and only ahead of AIX Racing's Cian Shields and Trident's debutant Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

Tsolov's demotion from the top 10 means teammate Arvid Lindblad, Rodin Motorsport's Alex Dunne and MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor all move up a spot on the Feature Race grid, while Tsolov moves down to fifth on the sprint race grid.

Starting grid - Sprint Race

1. Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing)

2. Joshua Dürksen (AIX Racing)

3. Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix)

4. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

5. Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)

6. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)

7. Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR)

8. Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing)

9. Jak Crawford (DAMS)

10. Roman Staněk (Invicta Racing)

11. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)

12. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport)

13. Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing)

14. Ritomo Miyata (ART Grand Prix)

15. John Bennett (Van Amersfoort Racing)

16. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

17. Luke Browning (Hitech TGR)

18. Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)

19. Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)

20. Kush Maini (DAMS)

21. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

22. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Trident)

Starting grid - Feature Race

1. Roman Staněk (Invicta Racing)

2. Jak Crawford (DAMS)

3. Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing)

4. Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR)

5. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)

6. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

7. Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix)

8. Joshua Dürksen (AIX Racing)

9. Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing)

10. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)

11. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport)

12. Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)

13. Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing)

14. Ritomo Miyata (ART Grand Prix)

15. John Bennett (Van Amersfoort Racing)

16. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

17. Luke Browning (Hitech TGR)

18. Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)

19. Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)

20. Kush Maini (DAMS)

21. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

22. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Trident)