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Nikola Tsolov continued his strong recent form at Spa-Francorchamps, topping Formula 2 Free Practice for Campos Racing with a 1:58.927. The result extends the confidence the Bulgarian carried from Silverstone, although he was quick to put the session into perspective.
Tsolov’s performance also follows the earlier report on his Spa practice-topping run, but the Campos driver knows Friday morning pace will mean little if the team cannot translate it into qualifying performance.
“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.”
He said the car was operating in a good window, while stressing that the session was only practice. The main variable still to come is the move to the purple-marked Supersoft tyre, which drivers will use around Spa for the first time this weekend.
“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.”
Tsolov set his benchmark later than several of his rivals. Campos deliberately released him into a less congested gap on circuit, but the decision was not primarily about escaping traffic. It was built around preparing the tyres efficiently on a circuit where each lap is long and rubber performance can deteriorate quickly.
“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. So going out later wasn’t compromising our run, and we decided to do it.”
Tsolov expects the softer tyre to be difficult to manage across a complete lap. Although drivers improved on subsequent laps in practice, he believes the Supersoft may lose performance early in the run, placing greater importance on producing a clean first push.
“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.”
He anticipates that drivers could follow a two-lap approach on each set, similar to qualifying at Barcelona, while Campos works through the data to predict the compound step. For Tsolov, the objective is clear: keep pole position within reach when qualifying begins later on Friday.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.