Tsolov: Monaco win is a “redemption” from pointless run in Canada

Credit: Formula 2

Nikola Tsolov was running in second place on Lap 34 of Formula 2’s Feature Race in Monaco. He had qualified on top of Group B on Friday, but wasn’t fast enough to beat out Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara, so he started just behind him on Sunday’s race.

In Monaco, qualifying is everything, so the Campos Racing driver wasn’t counting on the win heading into the race, and certainly wasn’t counting on it with less than 10 laps to go and Câmara having been comprehensively in charge so far.

But there was one thing none of the drivers were prepared for: tyre warmup. With it being earlier in the day than the Formula 2 drivers had been on track all weekend and coming from the Sprint Race which doesn’t require a change of tyres, they weren’t prepared for how tricky their outlaps would be on cold tyres after their pitstops. 

Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne likened it to “driving on ice”, saying after the race: “I didn't realise how much time you actually lost on the cold tyres. Then when I was in front of him through T2 and T3, it was like I was driving on ice. I tried my best to keep him behind, but it was nearly impossible. Yeah, it was very, very difficult.”

Credit: Formula 2

Câmara made his mandatory pit stop on Lap 33, coming back out onto the track to discover that the tyres were nowhere near where he wanted them to be temperature-wise. His struggle allowed Tsolov, who had pitted the lap before, to close the gap. Then, as the pair came into Turn 1 on Lap 34, Câmara finally lost control of the car and went into the wall, ending his day and passing the lead of the race onto Tsolov, who had been waiting patiently.

Tsolov led the final few laps to win the race, taking a Feature Race win at Monaco for the second year running, having pulled off a lights to flag victory from pole position at this same track in Formula 3 last season.

Speaking to DIVEBOMB after the race, Tsolov compared the feeling of last year’s win with this year’s.

“They're both very sweet in different ways,” the Bulgarian driver said. “Last year I think the pace was quite a few steps in front of everyone which was quite satisfying, also to drive in front and just do my own quali laps.

“And this year was a little different, obviously, I knew I was going to be fast, but we were just waiting for something to happen to be honest. I thought I was going to finish second and yeah for me this year, the good feeling is that I had a bad weekend in Canada so it's kind of a redemption, that's what makes it feel so good also taking both races fastest lap is a nice feeling, let's say confirmation of your pace.”

Tsolov had qualified fourth in Montréal a few weekends ago, joining his fellow F2 drivers at a track they had never been to before and hadn’t been planning for at the beginning of the year.

Despite a good qualifying, Tsolov suffered in both the Sprint Race and the Feature. In the Sprint he battled in the points positions for much of the race, but was penalised for an incident where he made contact with Martinius Stenshorne, which dropped him down to 14th in the end.

In the Feature Race, Tsolov fought for the win but ended up fourth, and a post-race penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a fight with Oliver Goethe, and was ultimately classified 12th.

Tsolov is the only driver currently in the top seven in the standings to have gone a whole round without scoring a point, so he knew that the pressure would be on in Monaco for a good result.

Speaking after the race, Tsolov’s relief was evident. “I felt like it was kind of a redemption for me just because I've had a few tough weekends in Miami,” he said. “I felt like I was going to be strong in the wet on Sunday because it's usually my strength, but unfortunately, I couldn't even try it. 

“Then in Canada, it was just a messy weekend. I think we had so much pace there and it was just a big missed opportunity, but I'm glad to see we're fighting for the Feature Race wins in every weekend, so for me, that's important and we can build on consistency from now on because, to be honest, that was my goal coming into this weekend. I wasn't really necessarily aiming for the win.”

Formula 2 is racing again this weekend in Barcelona, where Tsolov will be hoping to make a bid for the lead of the championship. He’s currently just one point shy of leader Gabriele Minì.