Nikola Tsolov wins Silverstone F2 Sprint after late Mini lock-up

Tsolov strikes late in Silverstone Sprint

Nikola Tsolov claimed victory in the Formula 2 Sprint Race at the British Grand Prix weekend, converting a hard-fought charge from sixth into a decisive late win at Silverstone. The Bulgarian finished ahead of Gabriele Mini and Rafael Villagomez, with the result leaving Tsolov level with Mini in the championship battle before Sunday’s Feature Race.

The Sprint grid was formed by reversing the top 10 from qualifying, giving championship leader Mini pole position alongside Ritomo Miyata. That placed Mini in a strong position to extend his advantage, while Tsolov, starting sixth, faced a more demanding route to the front. The wider context had already been set by qualifying, where Rafael Câmara took pole, as covered in our report on Câmara’s decisive Silverstone F2 qualifying performance.

Mini controls the start as Tsolov attacks

Mini launched cleanly and immediately secured the lead, while Miyata’s race began to unravel as he dropped several places in the opening corners. Villagomez moved into second, but Tsolov was quickly on the offensive, climbing into podium contention almost immediately after starting from the third row.

The race was then neutralised after contact between Sebastian Montoya and John Bennett. Both drivers ended up involved in an incident in the gravel near the start-finish straight, bringing out the Safety Car. After six laps under caution, racing resumed on Lap 7 with Mini still leading.

At the restart, Mini held firm through Turn 1, but the pressure behind him grew. Tsolov made a bold move on Villagomez for second, committing late on the brakes and putting himself directly behind his main championship rival.

Midfield pressure and a tightening lead fight

Further back, Martinius Stenshorne received a 10-second penalty for an early collision with Rafael Camara, while Miyata continued to slide through the order. By Lap 13, he was under sustained pressure from Roman Bilinski and Dino Beganovic, with a DRS train forming behind.

Bilinski eventually cleared Miyata at Stowe, before Beganovic and Dunne also found a way past before the end of Lap 14. At the front, Tsolov had entered Mini’s DRS range, turning the closing phase into a direct contest for victory.

Mini defended robustly as Tsolov attacked repeatedly, with Villagomez close enough to threaten if the leaders delayed each other. Kush Maini also began lapping quickly, adding another layer of urgency to the fight.

Final-lap mistake decides the race

Tsolov tried again on the penultimate lap, but Mini held the position. The decisive moment came on the final lap, when Mini suffered a major lock-up into Turn 1. Tsolov capitalised immediately, using the opportunity to sweep into the lead and pull clear.

Mini resisted late pressure from Villagomez to secure second, but the win belonged to Tsolov. More importantly, the result ensured the championship fight was dead even heading into the longer Feature Race.

Tsolov strikes late in Silverstone Sprint