Formula 2 Championship leader, Nikola Tsolov, has been handed a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s Feature Race in Hungary after colliding with PREMA’s Sebastian Montoya.
The Bulgarian was attempting to pass the Colombian on Lap 21 at the first corner of the Hungaroring, but clattered into the side of the PREMA, eliminating both from the Sprint Race.
Speaking over the team radio, Montoya described the move as “interesting”.
Following the race, which was won by Tsolov’s closest title rival, Gabriele Mini, both Tsolov and Montoya went to see the Stewards, who reviewed all the available evidence, including video, onboard footage and GPS data.
They ruled Tsolov was predominantly to blame for the clash, handing him a 10-second time penalty.
Nikola Tsolov ? Sebastian Montoya
The incident that led to the Bulgarian Lion's grid penalty for the Feature ?#F2 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/EBLix4wf5K
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) July 25, 2026
However, as the Red Bull Junior failed to finish the race, the time penalty is converted into a five-place grid drop for the next race.
It means that instead of starting seventh, and ahead of Mini, Tsolov will line up 12th on Sunday morning.
The Campos driver has an uphill task to stop more of his championship lead being eroded, after Mini’s win slashed 10 points from it, cutting it to 16 points.
Bagging the points in Budapest… ?#F2 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/3zXpnyUCTq
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) July 25, 2026
Image Credit – Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty
