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Tsolov wins Silverstone Feature Race to extend Formula 2 championship lead
Nikola Tsolov completed a Silverstone weekend sweep with a Feature Race victory over Rafael Villagómez, opening a 17-point championship lead over title rival Gabriele Minì.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-07-05T11:34:33.000Z - 3 min read
Nikola Tsolov strengthened his grip on the Formula 2 championship with a commanding Feature Race victory at Silverstone. Coming on the heels of a Feature Race win in Austria and a Sprint Race victory earlier in the British weekend, the Campos Racing driver confirmed his strong momentum and delivered another impressive performance for the Spanish squad.
Tsolov and MP Motorsport driver Gabriele Minì had entered the weekend tied at the top of the driver standings. Starting from fifth on the grid, Tsolov held a clear positional advantage over Minì, who qualified tenth. Before the race even got underway, the field lost Rodin driver Martinius Stenshorne, who was forced to withdraw on the grid because of an engine failure.
When the lights went out, polesitter Rafael Câmara lost the initiative immediately. The Invicta Racing driver dropped to fourth position behind ART Grand Prix runner Kush Maini, Tsolov, and Rodin driver Alex Dunne. Further back, Minì suffered an equally difficult opening lap, slipping out of the points-paying positions entirely.
Strategy pit stops began on lap six across the 29-lap distance. All four lead cars pitted to exchange their initial tyres for the hard compound, handing the temporary lead to Van Amersfoort Racing driver Rafael Villagómez. Behind him, Joshua Dürksen and Minì ran longer first stints before committing to soft tyres for the closing stages of the race.
The pivotal moment of the race occurred on lap 21 during a high-speed duel for the virtual lead between Maini and Tsolov. Sweeping around the outside of the ART Grand Prix car through the Maggots and Becketts complex, the Bulgarian driver completed a clean pass to secure track position ahead of the final pit window.
As the remaining pit stops reshuffled the field, Tsolov inherited the actual lead ahead of Villagómez, whose tyre management allowed him to pass Maini for second. Tsolov took the checkered flag 3.233 seconds ahead of Villagómez, with Maini finishing third. Dunne took fourth place, followed by Câmara in fifth.
Minì mounted a late recovery on soft tyres to climb back to sixth position, finishing 15.300 seconds behind the winner. Noel León finished seventh for Campos Racing, ahead of Roman Bilinski, Dürksen, and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, who rounded out the top ten. Sebastian Montoya joined Stenshorne on the retirement list.
The outcome marks another major shift in a title race that has swung back and forth over recent rounds. After taking a three-point lead over Minì with a second-place finish in Barcelona, Tsolov now holds a 17-point cushion over his Italian rival as Formula 2 prepares for the next round at Spa-Francorchamps from July 17 to 19.