Nikola Tsolov seals fourth F2 win of 2026 season in Austria Feature Race
Nikola Tsolov delivered a composed and decisive drive to win the Formula 2 Feature Race in Austria, converting a turbulent contest into his fourth victory of the season. The Campos Racing driver beat championship leader Gabriele Minì, with Oliver Goethe completing the podium after a late charge.
Turn 3 chaos reshapes the race early
Noel León started from pole for Campos Racing, building on the momentum from his maiden F2 pole in Spielberg qualifying, but the opening lap quickly shifted the race’s complexion. Alex Dunne slipped back from second at the start, allowing Tsolov to move ahead, while further behind the day unravelled immediately for Sebastian Montoya and Rafael Villagómez.
At Turn 3, Joshua Dürksen moved across the track and forced Villagómez into Montoya, sending both into the gravel and out of the race. By the time the Safety Car was deployed, Tsolov had already taken control at the front, leading León and Minì at the restart.
Strategy swings the net lead
Dunne was the first of the leading contenders to stop, pitting on Lap 8 and rejoining 17th. Tsolov and León followed one lap later, while Minì stayed out and inherited the race lead ahead of MP Motorsport teammate Goethe.
Tsolov’s stop was not clean, but it was good enough to keep him ahead of León. When Minì came in a few laps later, the undercut briefly put him ahead of Tsolov, only for the Campos driver to use warmer tyres to reclaim the advantage. Dunne then attacked at Turn 3 on Lap 13 and moved into the net lead, while Tsolov had to resist Minì to hold what was effectively second place.
The race entered a second strategic phase as Goethe, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Laurens Van Hoepen ran long on the harder tyre. Tsolov, however, refused to settle behind Dunne and retook eighth on Lap 25, restoring his grip on the race once the alternate-strategy runners stopped.
Tsolov controls the finish
A Virtual Safety Car on Lap 27, caused by Mari Boya stopping with a mechanical issue and fire at the rear of his PREMA Racing car, briefly froze the order. Once the remaining stops were completed, Tsolov cycled back into the lead ahead of Minì, Dunne and Rafael Câmara.
Câmara eventually passed Dunne for third after a tense fight, but Goethe surged past both to secure the final podium place with three laps remaining. Out front, Tsolov was untouchable, taking the chequered flag on Lap 40 by 3.9 seconds.
Minì finished second, Goethe third and Câmara fourth, ahead of Inthraphuvasak, Martinius Stenshorne and Dunne, who was set for a post-race investigation over his defence against Câmara. León ended a disappointing eighth, with Van Hoepen and Dürksen completing the points.
Simone Scanu
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.