APEX RACEWIRE Newsroom
Noel León targets F1 radar amid strong rookie Formula 2 campaign
Campos Racing rookie Noel León reflects on his three-win debut Formula 2 season, his championship ambitions, and adapting to life at the front.
By Lesley Bakker - 2026-08-27 11:03:14.348 - 2 min read
Noel León has enjoyed an encouraging opening half of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season, anchoring himself fifth in the Drivers' Standings with 94 points. The Campos Racing driver secured three victories before the summer break, highlighted by a standout Feature Race win in Budapest, establishing himself as the third highest-placed rookie in the championship.
Reflecting on his campaign, León acknowledged both the peaks and the frustrations of his debut year. While proud of his pole positions and race wins, he pointed to missed opportunities on Sundays, specifically noting a seventh-place finish at the Red Bull Ring after starting from pole position as a particularly difficult loss to swallow.
The Mexican driver contrasted his current form with a challenging 2025 Formula 3 season, where he finished 17th overall. Moving to Campos Racing provided a fresh environment and a competitive car, though he admitted that adjusting to racing at the sharp end of the grid required a mental shift after spending the previous year battling deep in the midfield.
That relative lack of recent front-running experience is where León believes teammate and championship leader Nikola Tsolov has held an advantage early in the year. While noting that their raw speed has been quite close, León observed that Tsolov's familiarity with leading races allowed him to extract performance more effectively during the initial rounds.
Looking toward the remainder of the calendar starting at Monza, León remains determined to maintain his momentum. Beyond sustaining his title challenge, he is actively targeting a firm place on the radar of Formula 1 teams by continuing to deliver strong weekend performances.