Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov claimed his fourth podium of the season in the F2 Sprint Race at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, finishing P3 after a hard-fought race. The Bulgarian started from P5 and made a strong launch off the line, moving into the top three during the opening stages.
While his race proved up and down until the chequered flag, Tsolov still collected valuable points for his championship pursuit, keeping him 2nd in the Drivers’ Standings heading into tomorrow’s Feature Race. Speaking in the post-Sprint press conference, he spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets, reflecting on how his race unfolded.
“Yeah, I would say my start was quite good. And then it was just a strong pace in lap one. I think I had the fronts ready, so that benefited me quite a bit.”, he said.
“And then to be fair, what I wanted to do is save my tyres as much as possible for the end of the race. But we hit a cliff. I think the balance was a bit out of place than what I would have expected. So we saw in free practice we were struggling with this tyre compound, the hard ones.”
“So I knew it was going to be difficult. We tried to do as best as we can to learn for tomorrow. For me, that was the key today. And then we can build on to that at the end of the day. It’s my first proper points of the season if we don’t count the wins. So I’m glad to just keep the consistency up.”
Maximising tomorrow’s race is the focus
When asked about his focus for tomorrow and what he will take into the Feature Race, Tsolov explained: “I’ll be taking the feedback that I have from the tyre and the car. And then trying to maximise it tomorrow as much as we can. And I think on the soft tyre we should be quite strong. We already showed it in quali.”
“Obviously the race pace is quite different, but the car handles much better, I would say. And then we’ll try to work on the hard compound and maximise that stint. Because in the end it’s a longer one.”
Although a podium finish initially seemed out of reach, a costly mistake from Colton Herta on the last lap saw him inherit the position after the American locked up and ran wide into the gravel at Turn 5. Pleased to have capitalised on the opportunity, Tsolov was happy to walk away with a few extra points.
“I saw a lock-up, like smoke, at the first moment. And then I didn’t think anyone went off, because I couldn’t see anything until the exit of the corner. And then I saw [Colton] Herta in the gravel. And I was trying to put the throttle back on to manage to come out ahead of him. And I almost felt like I wasn’t going to be able to.”
“But in the end I managed to go ahead. And I was just happy that I could take a few more points. Just because I dropped it a little bit in the race. And yeah, that was it.”
A long-standing history with Minì
The 2026 F2 season is not the first time Tsolov and Gabriele Minì have fought for a title in the same category, as the duo go back as far as their karting days. Having also been part of the Alpine Driver Academy before moving to the Red Bull programme, the pair have spent a significant number of years sharing both the track and paddock.
When asked by Pit Debrief about each other’s strengths and whether fighting for a title at such a high level of motorsport feels like a full-circle moment, Tsolov said: “Yeah, obviously I know Gabi [Minì] for quite a while. And I just knew him from karting as well. He was like a category ahead usually. And I always knew he was one of the quickest guys I knew at the time. And just always knew he was going to fight for every championship every year, which kind of he’s been doing.”
Pointing to the Italian’s impressive consistency so far, Tsolov believes that is where Minì’s strength lies this year.
“So for me, this year his biggest strength, I would say, is definitely the consistency. It’s quite impressive how he manages to take the approach coming into the week.” he explained. “And I feel like he’s understood the championship very well already from the beginning. And I’m trying to take as much of that on that side.”
“And yeah, it’s a bit early on to say we’re directly just the two of us fighting for the championship. But again, I think he’s doing the scoring of points very well.”
Not counting out Câmara and Dunne in the title fight
Although the Barcelona Sprint Race has strengthened Tsolov’s position in the fight for the F2 title, he is not ruling out other drivers. Noting that while both he and Minì currently hold an advantage in points, the Bulgarian believes Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne will be key figures in the title fight moving forward.
“Well, I think we have quite an advantage at this stage of the year to the rest in terms of points. But I wouldn’t take out Rafa [Câmara] from the championship fight. I think he’s really strong. He’s shown his qualifying performance, which ultimately is probably one of the most important things that you should have. So he will definitely be up there all the time.”
“Obviously, [Alex] Dunne, we cannot take him out.”, he noted. “He’s very rapid, very aggressive, which I think is to his benefit. So it will be maybe five, six drivers fighting for it, which makes it even more interesting.”
Representing a Spanish team on home soil
“Pressure? Not at all. More comfort, I would say.”, Tsolov said when asked whether racing on home soil for Campos Racing brings any added pressure.
“Home race for the team. It’s always great to be in Spain. Had a nice dinner, good weather, and hopefully good vibes. Celebrate that podium and hopefully more tomorrow.”
He added: “They were very quick last year. They won the race. Hopefully, we can try to repeat the same. But again, for me, it’s important to score the points. I think we both had a point-finish race with Noel [León], which I think maybe is one of the first times of the year we both score points. We are improving in that sense, so it’s good to do that at home.”
Speaking about the challenges he faced in the closing stages of the race, he said he struggled quite a bit. However, despite that, the 19 year-old was pleased to maximise the result he could achieve today as attention now turns to tomorrow’s Feature Race.
“The main challenges I faced were definitely degradation. At the very last bit of the race, I think the last five to ten laps, I was struggling quite a lot. But I did my best to try and maximise what I had. Yeah, we’ll try and learn for tomorrow, see what we can improve to reduce that drop in the end.”
Tsolov sees “no point” in risking for more
Walking away with a P3 finish, Tsolov views Saturday as a successful day. When asked how important it was to execute a clean race to maximise opportunities, he explained: “Yeah, obviously, it’s very important to clear everyone in the beginning and then try to build a slow race, let’s say, and manage to secure your top three, top five. There’s not that many points given in the sprint in terms of difference with the positions you finish.”
Seeing that Minì had more pace than him, the Bulgarian appeared to accept his position and opted to settle for third rather than risk a potential crash.
“So, for me, there was no point to risk too much. Once I saw Gabi [Minì] was quick, I just kind of knew he would get past me at some point in the race. So, I just accepted that, and the way he did it this year, accept that that’s the best you can do and just take it instead of fighting and ending up in a crash, potentially.”
Starting from P6 tomorrow, the Bulgarian will be hoping to work his way through the field and return to the podium, not only for himself but also for Campos Racing on home soil.
