In a thrilling F2 race in Melbourne, marked by numerous incidents, penalties, and technical issues, Nikola Tsolov claimed victory in the first feature race of the season. Despite the chaos on track, many drivers delivered impressive results. For instance, Gabriele Minì started outside the top twenty and finished eighth, while Colton Herta, making his F2 debut and aspiring for an IndyCar seat, climbed from 14th to seventh place. However, the main heroes of the day were the 2026 F2 rookies, who swept the entire podium: 2025 F3 vice-champion Nikola Tsolov (P1), F3 champion Rafael Câmara (P2), and rookie Laurens Van Hoepen (P3).
Nikola Tsolov’s Maiden F2 Victory
The young Bulgarian driver, Nikola Tsolov, demonstrated coolness and calculation, becoming the first representative of his country to win a Formula 2 race. He masterfully controlled the course of his race, relying on tyre strategy, which paid dividends when two RODIN team drivers collided directly in front of him.
“The race was quite messy, but I knew from the start that I had warmed up my tyres pretty well… And then after lap one, being in third, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll just stay back and try to see how the race unfolds, and then we’ll use our strategy later.’ But then, obviously, the two RODINs were very eager to stay in front and ahead of each other. So I let them do their thing, which ultimately led to an incident.”
The Reigning F3 Champion is Ready for New Challenges
Last year, Rafael Câmara began his Formula 3 campaign with a pole position and a feature race victory, going on to become the 2025 F3 champion. Today’s results indicate that Câmara has maintained his championship form into his rookie F2 season. The young Brazilian driver spoke positively about his achievements, which bodes well for his future successes.
“I would say it was a very positive start to the championship. Especially after yesterday, when I was very close to getting a podium, and I think getting P2 today, I’m quite happy. It was a clean race, and I’m happy to end the weekend like this… Quali almost ruined everything because I saw that after the Red Flag, it was quite a big mess to start a flying lap… But yes, I think we managed to just keep it in the top 10; that was good enough to fight for points.”
A Boost of Confidence for Van Hoepen
Laurens Van Hoepen might not have had the most stellar Formula 3 season last year, but he started his rookie F2 season with a bang. Points, though reduced, in Saturday’s Sprint race and a third-place podium in Sunday’s feature race propelled the Dutch driver to third in the championship. For a driver who started outside the top 10 in both races, this weekend’s results provide a significant confidence boost heading into the next round of the Formula 2 season. For the TRIDENT team, this podium is also their first in F2 since 2024, and they hope these results foreshadow a successful 2025.
“Super happy. I think we had a really good race starting from P11, for sure. I wasn’t really expecting to be on the podium, but I think the team and I did an amazing job. Pit stops from the team were also very good. We managed to drop a position there and then… And the pace was pretty strong. I mean, we were able to keep the guys behind and even at some point catch Nico and Rafa in front.”
The Next Generation
Rookies dominated today’s race, proving that this generation of young and promising drivers is ready to contend for a Formula 1 seat.
“We’re definitely a good generation coming up. I never doubted that I would share a Podium with Rafa. Especially, you know, we were both in teams that were fighting for the championship last year,” said Nikola Tsolov about the all-rookie podium.
After the Melbourne Feature Race, the championship standings are as follows: (Note: Specific top-10 data is not available in the original text.)
The next round of Formula 2 is expected to take place in Bahrain on April 10th.
