Nikola Tsolov claimed a landmark maiden FIA Formula 2 victory in Melbourne, becoming the first Bulgarian driver to win in the championship with a composed drive in the 2026 season-opening Feature Race.
The Campos Racing driver capitalised on early drama between the Rodin Motorsport teammates to take control of the race and never looked back, crossing the line comfortably ahead of Invicta Racing rookie Rafael Câmara. Tridents’s Laurens van Hoepen completed the podium in third.
The race was turned on its head in the opening laps. Martinius Stenshorne initially seized the lead from the start ahead of teammate Alexander Dunne, but the pair soon began battling for control of the race. Their fight ended in disaster on Lap 3 when contact between the Rodin drivers at Turn 1 eliminated both cars from the race.
That promoted Tsolov into the lead ahead of Câmara and Dino Beganovic, with a Safety Car deployed to clear the stranded machines.
When racing resumed, Tsolov controlled the pace at the front while strategy began to unfold behind him. Beganovic was the first of the frontrunners to pit, briefly charging back through the order before his race ended in frustration with a retirement on Lap 17, triggering another Safety Car period.
The interruption briefly handed the lead to Nico Varrone, who had yet to complete his mandatory stop. However, once the race restarted on Lap 22, Tsolov wasted little time reclaiming the lead with a decisive move at Turn 3.
From there, the Bulgarian steadily edged clear while battles raged behind. Câmara secured second after overtaking Varrone, while van Hoepen climbed into the podium places late on as the Argentine slipped down the order.
At the chequered flag, Tsolov took a commanding victory for Campos Racing, with Câmara finishing second and van Hoepen securing third.
Oliver Goethe narrowly missed the podium in fourth ahead of Ritomo Miyata, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Colton Herta, Gabriele Minì, Sebastián Montoya and Joshua Duerksen, who completed the points in tenth.
Photo by Dom Gibbons – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
