Following a record-breaking weekend in Silverstone, Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov wasted no time carrying that momentum into the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps weekend, topping Free Practice to make a strong start to the eighth round of the season. The Bulgarian driver found his way to the top with a 1:58.927, while Rodin Motorsport’s Martinius Stenshorne and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Nicolás Varrone rounded up the top three.
Speaking after the session, Tsolov said: “I did feel confident coming into the session. It’s a great track, so it’s all about enjoying it and finding a tow, which we did. And then I just felt relaxed, confident. I took everything step-by-step.”
“The car was in a good window, but, it’s only Practice, so we’ll look forward to keep that up. We’re making a compound step as well, going to the Supersoft. So things might flip around a little bit, but I hope we keep our pace.”
Explaining their approach to the session, the Red Bull Junior explained why they opted to go out slightly later than the rest of the field.
“It was just a run plan thing we planned. Here, the track is very long, so the tyres do tend to struggle quite a bit and you don’t need to do as many laps as in other FPs.”, he said. “So going out later wasn’t compromising our run, and we decided to do it.”
Tsolov weighs in on approach to tyre management for Qualifying
As the longest circuit on the 2026 F2 calendar, the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps presents a unique challenge for Tsolov and the rest of the grid, particularly when managing tyre usage over a push lap around the 7.004km circuit.
“I think it will be a half a lap tyre, to be honest! It’s going to be interesting because it’s the first time we’ll be using it around here, and I think it won’t be easy. I think we’ll be actually struggling towards Sector 2 already on our first push.
“So I do believe that everyone will be going like Barcelona quali, doing just two laps on both sets and that’s it. But I hope that we keep pole within reach.”
While topping Free Practice marked a strong start to their weekend, Tsolov and Campos Racing are choosing to stay grounded. Having consistently qualified inside the top three for most of the season so far, the Bulgarian driver will hope to continue his strong run of form this afternoon.
