Tsolov takes fourth F2 win of the season in Austrian Feature Race

Nikola Tsolov took his fourth victory of the Formula 2 season in fine style with a mature performance at the Feature Race on Austria's Red Bull Ring. Having lost the lead through the middle phase of the race, the Campos Racing driver bided his time before regaining P1 then drove off into the distance. It was a double podium for MP Motorsport with Gabriele Minì in second ahead of Oliver Goethe.

Third-placed Tsolov made a fast start to get ahead of Alexander Dunne on the run to Turn 1. He then dived to the inside of Campos teammate and pole-sitter Noel León at Turn 3 to take the lead. Dunne’s slow start saw him drop to fourth after losing out to Minì, who then challenged León for P2 before the safety car halted their battled. Sebastián Montoya and Rafael Villagómez were out of the race after colliding on the way to Turn 3.

Racing resumed on lap 4 with Tsolov leading the field away. In the battle for P8, Joshua Duerksen got around the outside of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak at Turn 3. The Thai driver’s fall through the field continued on lap 6, with Roman Bilinski and ART Grand Prix teammate Kush Maini demoting him to P10.

León was then the first of the leaders to come in for their mandatory stop, swapping his supersoft tires for softs. Dunne was in for his set of softs on lap 8, and he had made the overcut work on León, with Tsolov and Sprint Race winner John Bennett following him in on the next lap to get rid of their supersofts.

It was a slow stop for the Bulgarian, but he came out ahead of Dunne and his Campos teammate, although he had to defend from the Rodin driver. Minì and Câmara were next in for some softs on lap 9, leaving Oliver Goethe – who had started on the softs – as the virtual leader of the race.

His MP teammate briefly made the overcut count as he came out ahead of Tsolov. But the Bulgarian went to the inside of Minì at Turn 3, as Dunne then went around the outside of his fellow Alpine Academy member at the next corner. Having put pressure on Tsolov since the pit stops, Dunne got through on the next lap with a neat move to the inside at Turn 3. The two drivers did make slight contact, taking off the front wing end plate of the Campos.

Câmara was the next driver to make a move at Turn 3, diving to the inside of León for P12 on lap 15, as he set his sights on closing in on Minì. It was a good few laps for Invicta, with Duerksen overtaking Bennett at Turn 1 for P14. A few corners later, the Paraguayan gained another position with an overtake on León.

Having steadied the ship, by lap 19 Tsolov was just 0.3s behind Dunne. Lap 24 and Tsolov was starting to put more pressure on Dunne, who locked up at Turn 4. The Rodin driver then ran wide at the final corner, allowing his rival to take the position at Turn 1.

The Bulgarian then broke DRS to the Irishman, who was now under pressure from Minì. But just as they prepared to fight, the virtual safety car came out with Mari Boya having stopped on track. Racing resumed on lap 28, with Minì resuming his attack on Dunne. He got ahead of his rival at Turn 4 for what was a net second place.

Their squabbling allowed Tsolov to build a 2.5s gap as Goethe came in for his stop. He filtered out in P10 with his brand-new set of supersofts. Inthraphuvasak and Nico Varrone were the final stoppers, leaving Tsolov in the lead from Minì by 1.9s while Dunne was battling to keep P3 with Câmara.

The Brazilian made his move around the outside of Turn 3 on lap 33, but Dunne closed the door. Behind them, Goethe was up to P6 after overtaking León at Turn 6. With Dunne and Câmara fighting, Duerksen and Goethe closed in. Bennett, León and Inthraphuvasak joined the battle for the podium a few corners later.

Goethe then got around outside of both Câmara and Dunne at Turn 4 to take P3 on lap 36. Inthraphuvasak was up to fifth on lap 37, getting past León and Dunne with DRS on the run to Turn 4. On to the final lap, Tsolov and Minì had driven away from the rest, with the Campos driver crossing the line to achieve his fourth victory of the season.

Tsolov would not be denied in Sunday's feature. James Sutton/Formula 1 via Getty Images

“Third Feature Race win of the year and fourth overall, so extremely happy," said Tsolov. "It’s not something we expected this morning. But I am grateful we could do it and a well-managed race.”

Goethe made his first Formula 2 podium, ahead of Câmara, who held off Inthraphuvasak at the line, while Stenshorne made a last lap overtake on teammate Dunne for P6. León was eighth ahead of Laurens van Hoepen and Duerksen.

Minì maintains his lead in the drivers' championship on 108 points, but Tsolov has brought the gap down to just two points. Câmara is third with 82 points, ahead of Dunne on 78. León rounds out the top five with 60 points.

In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing lead the way on 166 points, while MP Motorsport are up to second on 136. Rodin Motorsport drops down one position to third with 134 points, with Invicta Racing fourth on 104. DAMS Lucas Oil close out the top five with 68.

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