Tsolov Takes Victory in Australia
Incidents in the FIA Formula 2 Championship began even before the start of the main Sunday race of the Australian round. Sebastian Montoya collided with the car of Polish rookie Roman Bilinski from DAMS while exiting the pit lane. The driver himself was likely not at fault, but Prema Racing may face a penalty for releasing the car in an unsafe condition.
The start of the race was relatively calm, although pole-sitter Dino Beganovic made a slow getaway, allowing Martinius Stenshorne to take the lead. However, on the third lap he collided with his teammate Alex Dunne, and both Rodin Motorsport drivers were forced to retire. The safety car was deployed.
Following the incident, the race was led by Bulgarian driver Nikola Tsolov of Campos Racing. Behind him were Rafael Camara and Beganovic, although the Swedish driver later retired due to a technical issue, which triggered a Virtual Safety Car period followed by the deployment of the safety car.
After the restart, Tsolov confidently maintained his lead. Behind him, a battle unfolded in which Camara moved up to second place, while Laurens van Hoepen climbed to third.
In the end, Nikola Tsolov claimed victory and became the first Bulgarian driver to win a Formula 2 race. Rafael Camara finished second, with Laurens van Hoepen taking third place.
American driver Colton Herta completed his debut weekend in the series in seventh position, scoring his first points.
After the opening round of the championship, Tsolov also moved to the top of the drivers’ standings with 25 points thanks to his victory. The next round of the series is scheduled for April, although its staging remains uncertain due to the tense situation in the Middle East.
