Nikola Tsolov endured one of his most challenging weekends of the 2026 Formula 2 (F2) season in Budapest, scoring only six points after an incident in the Sprint Race and a grid penalty complicated his Feature Race.
However, the Campos Racing driver still heads into the summer break with a 20-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship. Rather than dwelling on the points he lost in Budapest, Tsolov intends to use the weekend as an opportunity to learn and strengthen his title challenge.
Tsolov reflects on costly F2 Sprint Race error in Budapest
Tsolov entered the F2 Budapest round following a consistent run of results, but his decision to take additional risks during Saturday’s Sprint Race proved costly.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a bad one, but we knew this moment would come at some point. Unfortunately, too much risk on Saturday really cost us a few points this weekend, and I think with the penalty we got for today, it really set us back.”
The Bulgarian believed he had the pace to add considerably more points to his championship total. Nevertheless, he accepted responsibility for the mistake and viewed the setback as an important part of his development.
“We could have easily scored 15-16 points, but we came away only with six. It was tough to swallow yesterday, but in the end, I’m glad it happened in a moment like this, because it’s just part of the learning process. I had the buffer, let’s say, to make that mistake, learn and improve for the rest of the year. It can only motivate me.”
Turning a negative into a positive
After the disappointment of Saturday, Tsolov focused on recovering during the F2 Feature Race in Budapest. Although the penalty left him with more work to do, his progress through the field gave him something positive to take away from the weekend.
“I’m also glad that we had a decent comeback today after the fall down yesterday. In a sense, because we’ve done all the hard work coming in now, there is never going to be a good time to have a bad weekend, but again, it’s part of the learning process.”
Tsolov explained that responding to a difficult result begins long before the driver returns to the cockpit. He highlighted the importance of processing the disappointment and preparing mentally for the next opportunity.
“For me, it’s about how quickly you’re able to get back on your feet and how quickly you’re able to turn the negative into a positive. That was the tough part yesterday. As long as you do the tough job overnight and, in the morning, then the race is the easy part, because that’s something you should already have automatically in you.”
Feature Race recovery boosts Tsolov’s confidence
Tsolov faced further adversity at the beginning of the Feature Race when a first-lap incident cost him three positions. With overtaking notoriously difficult at the Hungaroring, he had to complete most of his recovery through moves on track rather than relying on strategy.
“The odds were against us a little bit today in terms of strategy and stuff. We didn’t really get the opportunity to make up so much, so we had to do most of it on track. But, overtaking here is almost impossible. To overtake five cars, after being involved in an incident in lap one, where I lost three places, I think it’s the max we could do. The pace was good as well, so I’m honestly feeling quite positive.”
Despite the contact, Tsolov did not believe his car suffered any damage that significantly affected his performance. His pace throughout the race also reinforced his confidence after Saturday’s disappointment.
Strategy gamble fails to deliver
Tsolov and Campos expected the Soft tyre to perform well in the warm conditions. The Bulgarian explained that higher temperatures allowed the softer compound to operate more effectively without suffering the problems it might experience in colder weather.
“The car didn’t feel too bad after the incident, so I think it was okay. Even if I did have damage, it was not slowing me down, for sure. I think we knew that the Soft was going to stay in for quite a bit. When the temperatures are quite hot, usually the softer compounds behave better, compared to the harder ones.”
However, the durability of the Soft tyre influenced the team’s approach and contributed to Tsolov remaining on the Medium compound longer than he ultimately wanted.
“Just because you slide less and you overheat them less. I think that’s the main reason, and then you get graining when it’s cold. Today, on a hot day, we knew that the Soft would last longer, maybe that was a mistake. We stayed out a little bit too long on the Medium.”
Campos could have brought Tsolov into the pits earlier and attempted to undercut the drivers ahead, but the team instead waited for a potential Safety Car. Had one appeared at the right moment, Tsolov believed the strategy could have placed him in second.
“We couldn’t really box early to undercut the cars in front on the same strategy because we wanted to wait and see if there was a Safety Car, because I would have come out in P2. We took that gamble, but obviously luck was not fully with us today. But that’s okay. We save it for the better moments.”
Championship leader welcomes summer break
Despite the difficult Budapest round, Tsolov remains satisfied with the opening nine rounds of his F2 season. A demanding run of consecutive events made the first part of the campaign pass quickly, while both the successful and challenging moments provided valuable lessons.
“It’s been a great season so far. It’s crazy that we’ve been through nine rounds already. It didn’t feel long because we were back-to-back quite a lot of times. But, I look back on it with so many positives.”
With a 20-point championship advantage, Tsolov can now step away from racing briefly and reflect on his season before the campaign resumes. He hopes the time away will allow him to return refreshed and better prepared for the remaining rounds.
“A lot learned, so many good and bad moments, emotions both ways. 20 points ahead still, so I can really disconnect now a little bit and take some time off. I think having that break to really acknowledge everything that happened, it’s going to be beneficial for me. I think I can come back stronger than ever, and this is what I’ll be aiming for.”
