Nikola Tsolov secured victory during the Feature Race at the 2026 F2 Austrian GP, view the full race report here.
The sixth round kicked off with an intense Sprint Race, which saw John Bennett claim his first Formula 2 victory, with Rafael Villagómez taking P2, and Sebastián Montoya P3. Notably, the race also saw a major multi-car accident at Turn 3 on the opening lap, resulting in four retirements.
Now, for Sunday’s Feature Race, Noel León lined up on pole alongside Alex Dunne in P2 and Nikola Tsolov behind in P3. Championship leader Gabriele Minì started P4, looking to extend his lead, while Rafael Câmara completed the top five.
The F2 Austrian Sprint Race gets underway
As the five lights went out, León got off to a strong start as his teammate Tsolov moved up to P2, making it a Campos 1-2 by Turn 1. Tsolov continued his charge up the field, taking the race lead at Turn 3 while Miní briefly attempted to challenge for P2 before León fought back to retain the position. In the meantime, Joshua Dürksen, Montoya, and Villagomez collided on the way up to Turn 3. The incident triggered a safety car and left Montoya and Villagomez with DNFs, while Dürksen continued.
The 2026 F2 Austrian Feature Race resumed on Lap 4 as Tsolov took the field back to normal speeds. After having an impressive Sprint Race comeback, Roman Bilinski was the first driver to enter the pit lane and serve his mandatory pit stop. León, Dunne, and Beganovic followed.
Race leader Tsolov came into the pit lane at the end of Lap 8, crucially coming out ahead of Dunne, despite a slow stop. Minì pitted a lap later, rejoining ahead of Tsolov before dropping down as Tsolov’s tyres were up to temperature, allowing him to use DRS and get by. Moments later, Dunne also overtook Minì.
Dunne vs Tsolov fight for the effective race lead
A tight battle for the effective lead began on Lap 12 as Dunne attempted to attack Tsolov at Turn 4. Tsolov defended well, but lost the position on the following lap as Dunne dived down the inside of Turn 3, taking P9. Notably, during their battle, the pair made slight contact, leaving Tsolov without a front left end plate.
As the top five in the 2026 F2 Championship ran from P9 to P13, Câmara used DRS to overtake León at Turn 3, moving up to 12th place. Meanwhile, fighting for P5, Martinius Stenshorne made a bold wheel-to-wheel move past Nicolás Varrone.
With 20 laps remaining, the leading top eight on the grid were yet to pit as Dunne held the effective race lead.
Halfway point of the race
On Lap 24, Dunne slightly locked up at Turn 4, allowing Tsolov to close in and apply pressure. Dunne made another mistake at the final corner, going wide. Tsolov made a decisive move past going into Turn 1 before immediately braking DRS range.
His progress was halted by a virtual safety car after Mari Boya parked up on the side of the road between Turns 3 and 4 with an issue on his PREMA Racing car. The marshals quickly cleared his car, and the race resumed on Lap 28. At the restart, Minì dived down the inside of Dunne at Turn 4, clearing the Irish driver and taking P7.
As the final 10 laps began, Oliver Goethe, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, and Varrone finally pitted, bringing an end to the Feature Race mandatory pit stops. Tsolov re-inherited the race lead, with Minì, Dunne, and Câmara behind.
A tight battle for P3
Fighting for the final podium spot, Câmara and Dunne went side-by-side at Turn 3, with the Brazilian running out to the escape road. Race control soon noted the incident for forcing another driver off track. As the two continued to battle closely, Dürksen and Goethe closed in, making it a four-car battle for P3.
Running on fresh, supersoft tyres, Goethe charged past his rivals and up into P3. In the meantime, Dürksen went off at Turn 1, dropping down to P8. Notably, Inthraphuvasak completed an impressive comeback drive on his supersofts, attempting to challenge Câmara for P4 on the final lap before settling for P5.
Nikola Tsolov ultimately crossed the chequered flag first, taking his third Feature Race win of the season as Minì and Goethe completed the podium.
