Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing won the feature race in Monaco, the fourth round of the Formula 2 season.
The Bulgarian driver demonstrated excellent race strategy, spending almost the entire race in second place before taking the lead on the final lap to secure his second feature-race victory of the season. Combined with his earlier sprint-race win, this marks his third victory in just eight starts this year.
Tsolov started from second on the grid and immediately slotted in behind pole-sitter Rafael Câmara of Invicta Racing. The start was surprisingly clean – something unusual on the narrow street circuit in Monaco – with very few incidents throughout the race.
The Bulgarian made his pit stop on lap 33, becoming the first driver in the top ten to do so. He rejoined in fifth place, and the strategy proved to be the correct one. Câmara followed suit a lap later, but after rejoining he struggled badly with tire grip and was significantly slower.
At the beginning of lap 35, Tsolov attempted to overtake his rival. Câmara tried to block him, but the move backfired as the Brazilian ran into the escape area. Tsolov continued unhindered and returned to second place, trailing only Indian driver Kush Maini.
Maini, however, still had to make his mandatory pit stop, which he did on the final lap. This handed victory to Tsolov, who finished more than eight seconds ahead of second-placed Alex Dunne of Rodin Motorsport.
Third place went to Swedish driver Dino Beganovic of DAMS, who crossed the line 26.4 seconds behind the winner.
The victory further strengthens Tsolov’s reputation as one of the most promising young drivers in the Formula 2 field.
Edited by R. Petkova