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Tsolov Retains F2 Advantage into Summer Break as Camara Closes Gap
Nikola Tsolov holds a 20-point championship lead as Formula 2 enters its summer pause, but Rafael Camara’s July surge has trimmed the gap to second-placed Gabriele Minì to just two points.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-07-26T11:09:36.000Z - 3 min read
Nikola Tsolov enters the Formula 2 summer break with a 20-point cushion at the summit of the drivers' standings, surviving a difficult Hungarian weekend to preserve his championship lead. The Campos Racing driver moved up to 167 points despite making a mistake during Saturday's Sprint Race and finishing outside the top five in Sunday's Feature Race. With five rounds remaining in the 2026 season, Tsolov holds the top spot as the paddock pauses until the campaign resumes at Monza in early September.
The central narrative of July's European leg was the rapid ascension of Rafael Camara. The Invicta Racing driver sat third on 94 points following Silverstone, but a dominant performance at Spa-Francorchamps—taking pole position alongside a Feature Race victory while teammate Joshua Dürksen won the Sprint—catapulted him back into contention. Camara built on that momentum in Budapest by securing third place in the Feature Race, raising his total to 145 points.
That result puts Camara just two points behind Gabriele Minì, who sits second on 147 points. Minì rebounded from a subdued weekend in Belgium by taking victory in the Hungarian Sprint Race for MP Motorsport. However, a finish outside the top five in the Budapest Feature Race limited his ability to close the gap on Tsolov, leaving the Italian trailing the leader by 20 points heading into the autumn phase.
Tsolov’s current advantage stems largely from his sweeping success at Silverstone earlier in the month. The Bulgarian swept both the Sprint and Feature races in Great Britain, taking the championship lead away from Minì, who had entered the Sunday race tied at the top of the standings. That double victory established a 17-point lead that Tsolov subsequently expanded to 27 points in Belgium before the Hungarian round narrowed the margin.
Behind the lead trio, Alexander Dunne occupies fourth position in the drivers' table with 108 points for Rodin Motorsport. Dunne failed to add to his tally in Hungary after accumulating 16 points across Great Britain and Belgium. Noel Leon holds fifth place on 94 points for Campos Racing, ahead of ART Grand Prix driver Kush Maini on 88 points and DAMS runner Dino Beganovic on 79.
In the teams' standings, Campos Racing has established a formidable position at the top of the order. The Spanish outfit leads the team competition with 261 points, holding a 74-point advantage over Invicta Racing, who jumped into second place on 187 points thanks to strong combined scores from Camara and Dürksen across Spa and Budapest.
MP Motorsport sits third in the team standings on 176 points, falling behind Invicta despite Minì’s Sprint win in Hungary. Rodin Motorsport occupies fourth on 167 points, with ART Grand Prix rounding out the top five on 147 points. With five rounds remaining after the summer break, the battle behind Campos remains fluid as teams prepare for the high-speed challenge of Monza.