Tsolov delivers in Monte Carlo to claim F2 Feature victory

Nikola Tsolov was in superb form as he claimed victory in this weekend’s Formula 2 Feature Race in Monaco. The Campos Racing driver took advantage of a mistake by Rafael Câmara to take the win, with Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne in second. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic made a last-lap overtake on Kush Maini to finish third. America's Colton Herta finished 19th for Hitech.

AS IT HAPPENED

It was a great start for pole-sitter Câmara, who kept the lead ahead of Tsolov, with Dunne maintaining P3. However it was a bad start for Dunne’s Rodin teammate Martinius Stenshorne, who was down to sixth from P4, with Beganovic and Gabriele Minì getting ahead.

Tsolov then set the fastest time of the race on lap 3, as he closed to within 0.4s of Câmara down the main straight. However on lap 5, the race leader responded with a quicker time of his own and was 1.1s clear heading across the line.

On lap 8, Sebastián Montoya and Laurens van Hoepen were the first drivers to pit for tires, swapping their supersofts for softs. Tsolov had closed to within DRS range of Câmara again on lap 12, with the leading duo nearly two and a half seconds clear of Dunne, who was coming under pressure from Beganovic.

However, by lap 17 the Bulgarian started to drop back from Câmara, who set some personal best sector times to pull out a 1.5s gap. Further behind, the gaps were beginning to open up, especially between Beganovic and Minì. The latter had been on the rear of the DAMS for much of the race, but on lap 22, he was over three seconds away and coming under pressure from Stenshorne.

Lap 24 saw the first set of soft tire starters come in for a set of supersofts, with Oliver Goethe and John Bennett coming in for a stop. Minì was the first of the front runners to come on lap 26 but a slow stop dropped him down to P17, with Roman Bilinski following him in on the next lap from seventh.

Noel León was next in on lap 28 and critically was able to stay ahead of Bilinski, but was coming under pressure from the DAMS driver, as well as Minì. As they battled, Beganovic pitted on the next lap and returned to the track with his Supersofts in P11. Lap 32 and Tsolov and Stenshorne were in for their supersofts, with Câmara and Dunne responding on the next lap.

The Brazilian came out ahead of Tsolov but struggled for grip, allowing the Campos driver to close in. They then went side-by-side into Turn 1, but Câmara locked up into the corner and ran straight on, bringing out the virtual safety car. He was unable to rejoin and out of the race. As the penultimate lap begun, Kush Maini finally pitted, rejoining in third position but with Beganovic closing in fast on the final lap.

But as they battled, Tsolov crossed the line to take a second Feature Race victory of the season, with Dunne following him across the line in second. Beganovic did leapfrog Maini to take P3, with the ART drive finishing fourth, holding off Stenshorne across the line. Miyata wound up sixth, ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi, Montoya, León and Bilinski.

“Win in Monaco again, third win in a row – I could not feel any better," said Tsolov. "We are again in the championship fight so heading into Barcelona I am feeling quite confident.”

Minì continues to lead the drivers' championship with 63 points, but Tsolov is now just a point behind in second. Stenshorne is third with 48, the same tally as teammate Dunne in fourth, with León fifth on 45.

In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing lead the way on 107 points, with Rodin Motorsport second on 96. MP Motorsport are down to third on 75 points with Invicta Racing on 58 ahead of DAMS Lucas Oil, who have 54 points.

F2 drivers will get a few days rest before hitting the track in Barcelona for Round 5 from June 12-14.

RESULTS