Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov claimed his fifth victory of the 2026 F2 season in the Silverstone Sprint Race, snatching the win with a bold last-lap move on Gabriele Minì. The Bulgarian has now won three of the last six races and continues his impressive run of consecutive points-scoring finishes.
Heading into the Feature Race, Tsolov is now level on points with Minì in the Drivers’ Standings, with the pair opening up a 34-point advantage over Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara in P3 through their remarkable consistency.
Speaking in the post-Sprint press conference attended by Pit Debrief, the 19 year-old reflected on his race, saying: “The start was very good. I was close to stalling on the formation lap. So then we were in a bit of a discussion what to do for the race start. We managed the right one and yeah, just stayed patient.”
Starting from P6, Tsolov immediately put himself in contention, climbing up to P3 by the time the field reached Turn 1. While pleased to have gained positions at the start, he said he was content to remain where he was and bring home a solid haul of points.
“I think that’s where I gained most of the places. I was already third by lap one, obviously on the outside of T3 as well, getting [Ritomo] Miyata was very important. And then to be honest, I was quite happy with where I was. Didn’t really think about moving forward too much more, just finishing the race, taking good points.”
“Didn’t expect” for fifth win to happen
He continued: “But obviously I just saved the tyres and I think was going step by step a little closer to Gabi [Minì] until I got the DRS where I think that was a crucial point. It was very powerful today again, but it was very tough to pass him.”
“He was driving very well in terms of where to push, where to not. So I had to adjust a little bit and see where I can be close.”, Tsolov said, praising his competitor’s strong drive.
While a mistake from Minì opened an opportunity to claim the win, he was not expecting it to happen. Nonetheless, the Bulgarian walks away pleased to have executed a well-managed race.
“And then on the last lap, he made a little mistake in T3 and that opened the opportunity to get by. Honestly, I didn’t expect it for that to happen. I was just happy with the P2 at that point, but yeah, grateful that we managed to execute it well.”
Tsolov: “No expectations” heading into the F2 Silverstone Feature Race
When asked about how much pressure he needed to put on Minì to force the mistake, Tsolov said: “A lot.”, he admitted. “As soon as I arrived to him, it was all I was trying to do. He doesn’t crack very easily under pressure, so he managed it well on that side and that made my life more difficult.”
“On the other hand, we put in a lot of work on the car from yesterday to today and managed to improve a lot because honestly, we weren’t expecting to be as fast as we were, especially on the hard compound.”
“But we did a big change and I’m more so happy for that rather than the win itself.”
However, heading into the Feature Race, Tsolov is keeping grounded and managing expectations, stressing that if they can move forward, they will.
“No expectations. Again, we want to finish in the top five, just like today. If we can move forward, we move forward, but there’s no rush to risk about anything.”
Tsolov weighs in on Leclerc and Russell’s win record
With five wins under his belt, the Red Bull Junior is closing in on Charles Leclerc and George Russell’s record for the most wins in a single F2 season, currently set at seven. Just two victories away and with his current form, that record looks well within reach.
When asked if he has thought about the possibility of breaking that record, he said: “I don’t think so, but it’s a good number, but I don’t really look at it in that way.”
“There was a discussion about who has the most wins in F2 with my physio before the weekend. And I think I mentioned to him that it was Leclerc with seven and he was like, we’re not really looking at that, are we?”
“But, you know, it’s good to have the more, the better, but I think it’s more about consistency and scoring points every round.”
Pleased to have “made a step forward” since Friday
“Today was important to maximise. Honestly, more so important to learn about the car and the changes that we did, if that works or not. That’s why I mentioned that I was very happy that we changed work.”, Tsolov said, when discussing the importance of maximising the Sprint Race with his championship rivals starting ahead for the Feature Race.
“Tomorrow is a longer race, more chaos for sure and looks to be dry as well. A little bit early in the morning, so cooler conditions, maybe less deg. A few things will change, but I’m happy we made a step forward and we can fight for more tomorrow.”
When asked by Pit Debrief how encouraging the result was for tomorrow’s race and what work was needed to be done overnight, the Red Bull Junior said: “For me, I’m starting in a similar position tomorrow, just one further ahead in P5. So we’ll be aiming to just have a clean race and see how the race unfolds. It’s very hard to predict an F2 one.”
Tsolov: “I’m improving day to day and race by race”
While the win came unexpectedly, he noted the importance of maximising each result and race, especially when other championship contenders are further down the field and out of the points. However, he added that while a two-point difference was not worth unnecessary risk, it was more about capitalising on an opportunity—something he managed to do.
“Considering we weren’t really expecting to be in P2 at that point of the race, I think that’s one of the reasons I was satisfied with it. And then obviously, there’s not big gap in points from P2 to P1. It’s just two points.”
“And when you know your other rivals, such as Alex [Dunne] and Rafa [Câmara] were out of the points, there was no reason to risk that much. And obviously, it was very difficult to pass Gabi as well. He was doing everything right up until that point.”
Tsolov added: “But obviously, when I got the opportunity, I took it. And for me, that’s more important.”
The Bulgarian is no stranger to fighting for a title, having been involved in the Formula 3 title fight with Câmara last year. When asked whether he feels he is currently performing at his highest level, he said: “I feel like I’m improving day to day and race by race, which is obviously fantastic to see. I think the work we are doing is working.”
“And yeah, I think that’s a short answer, but it’s pretty much it. I think the way we prepare the weekends have been in the right way and that’s what we need to look at.”
Approach to maintaining a strong championship challenge
Having scored points in all but four races so far, he said that while he has secured more wins than any other driver this season, it is difficult to determine whether that or a more consistent approach like Minì’s is the more “sustainable” long-term strategy in a title fight.
“It’s hard to say which one is more sustainable. I mean, if you’re consistently winning, I think that’s the best thing you can do. And I think he’s [Minì] trying to do that and I’m trying to do that.”
“So I think we have a similar approach at this moment, but I’ve just been in a situation more times where I had the opportunity to win and I took advantage of that and used it to my benefit.”
Noting that if any driver, including Minì, had been in a position to fight for wins, they would have done so as well. However, he ultimately believes consistency remains key at the end of the day.
“I think if he’s in a position to win as many times as me, then he would have also done it. So I think consistency is obviously more important than win number or win count. But when you can win, you win.”
Making up places early proved a confidence boost
“It has changed quite a lot. You know, you’re in a good mood already in lap one, which is very important.”, he explained.
“And I think once you get a good momentum, you just build confidence throughout the race. And yeah, I think gaining three places in lap one is always giving you confidence that you can do the same for the rest of the race.”
Starting from P5 on the third row for the F2 Silverstone Feature Race later today, Tsolov will be hoping to work his way through the field and return to the podium once again.
