Nikola Tsolov etched his name into F3 history at the Monaco GP, cruising to a commanding victory that marked his record-breaking fifth win in the championship. The Campos Racing driver led from pole position and never looked back, maintaining his composure through two late safety car periods to secure a dominant triumph on motorsport’s most prestigious street circuit.
The Bulgarian’s victory was part of a perfect day for Campos, with Mari Boya joining him on the podium in third place to deliver a 1-3 finish for the Spanish team. Roman Bilinski claimed second place for Rodin Motorsport, sandwiched between the two Campos drivers in what proved to be a masterclass in racecraft from Tsolov.
Breaking records at the perfect venue
Still processing the magnitude of his achievement, Tsolov was visibly elated after stepping out of his car. “I couldn’t feel any better. I think it’s the best track to do so. We’ve cut the pace since FP [Free Practice] which obviously kept my confidence high,” he said to Pit Debrief and the media.
“After yesterday, I had a few issues unfortunately with some technical stuff and that got into my head a little bit for today, but I managed to stay clear-minded and do my job as I have to and the race was good.”
The victory represents the culmination of a perfect weekend for both driver and team, with Tsolov demonstrating the pace that has made him one of the standout performers in this year’s championship.
“I think I’ve always felt confident around here [Monaco]. We finally nailed a lot of things in quali so we managed to extract everything and start at the front you know since the beginning of the year. If we start up there we’re going to be fighting for wins.”
Dominant performance despite disruption during F3 Monaco GP race
From the moment the lights went out at the F3 Monaco GP feature race, Tsolov controlled proceedings with authority. He got away cleanly from pole position and immediately began building a gap to the field behind, quickly breaking free from DRS range to establish his dominance. By lap 11, his advantage had grown to over four seconds as he appeared to shift into another gear entirely.
However, the characteristic unpredictability of Monaco soon intervened. When Noel Leon’s PREMA found the wall at Portier, the resulting safety car completely nullified Tsolov’s hard-earned advantage. A second safety car period followed shortly after, when Charlie Wurz crashed at Massenet after surrendering sixth place to Laurens van Hoepen, and Brando Badoer found himself pointing the wrong way at Portier.
Mental preparation pays dividends
Tsolov’s ability to maintain his composure and execute perfect restarts during the F3 Monaco GP proved crucial to his victory. When asked by Pit Debrief about how much of his race was planned, Tsolov reflected on his race management. He explained, “Yeah for me, I was kind of planning my race in terms of tyre management before in case I don’t keep first place after the start which I did so then I just followed my plan and obviously feeling the tyres, feeling the car you kind of adjust to it.”
“Being in Monaco we were always expecting safety cars I was actually quite surprised that we only got them pretty late in the race but yeah I was just prepared with different restarts over the years what worked what didn’t.”
The Bulgarian’s tactical awareness and preparation showed as he expertly managed each restart. “Preferably in my side I was particularly quick in the second and third sector so the earlier I restarted, the better it was for me, and so I was doing that and to be honest I didn’t feel much pressure from behind, so yeah just expected to have safety cars.”
Championship momentum building
The victory moves Tsolov up to third in the championship standings heading into Barcelona, a circuit where both he and Campos have enjoyed success in the past. With momentum building at the perfect time, the Bulgarian is confident about his prospects for the remainder of the season.
“I can be confident. I think it’s a good track for me, a good track for the team. So it’s only down to just waiting a week and see what happens but of course the focus is going to be the same mainly on quali and then manage the rest of the weekend.”
Lessons learned coming to the last leg of the triple header
The demanding triple header sequence has provided valuable learning opportunities for Tsolov, who has used the experience to refine his approach. “I think it’s all about the consistency during the three rounds and who comes on top after round three with the most points,” he said.
“I’d say yeah Imola was a bit difficult for me with technical issues and not that great weekend and then now just getting back on our feet and doing a really good line in Monaco. So things are getting better so it’s a strong track for us Barcelona, so we should keep going that way.”
Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Tsolov has identified qualifying performance as the crucial factor in maintaining his winning momentum, when asked by Pit Debrief.
“I think everything is in qualifying and probably as well you know also on my side I wasn’t pushing enough in some qualis [Qualifying].”
“So this has been the main thing for me just giving a little bit more and trusting the car and the tyres a little bit more especially this year the car is a bit different to drive so you have to kind of push in different places and having learned that and already having been qualifying in the front I think now I know the way things work so it should be better from now to towards the end of the season.”
The result capped off an exceptional weekend for Campos Racing, with Tsolov’s pole position and victory combining with Boya’s podium finish to demonstrate the team’s strength in depth. The 1-3 finish provides significant momentum heading into Barcelona, where the team will look to continue their winning ways.
