- F2 rookie Tsolov wins in Melbourne, making Bulgarian motorsport history.
- Tsolov’s Red Bull junior status puts a Racing Bulls seat within striking distance.
- A cancelled round and a 12-race season make every remaining weekend count.
As the chequered flag flew in Melbourne, Nikola Tsolov became part of history. The 19-year-old Bulgarian crossed the line at Albert Park to claim his first Formula 2 victory, becoming the first driver from his country to win in the series.
He also shot straight to the top of the 2026 F2 Drivers’ Championship. But ask him about Formula 1, and he will redirect the conversation almost immediately.
“It’s race by race, round by round, lap by lap,” Tsolov said. “Thinking too far ahead of yourself can get you in a deep hole.”
“Just a step away from the dream”
Tsolov knows exactly where F2 sits in the bigger picture. It is the final door before the sport’s highest stage. Yet he refuses to look too far ahead in the future.
After his debut victory, Tsolov was asked to share what his ultimate goal was. He responded by saying:
“I definitely have goals for this year,” he said via the official Formula 2 website. “I mean, ultimately in Formula 2 you’re just a step away from the dream we’re all racing here for. So you should have a goal.”
Despite the ambition to reach the pinnacle of Motorsport, Tsolov chose to keep some perspective.
“I’m not trying to end up there, I just want to reach my personal goals and targets. That is what I’m looking for, I am not particularly looking at the results, I just want to improve and work on myself,” he added.
It is a striking thing to hear from a teenager in one of motorsport’s most-watched feeder series. Most drivers his age are chasing headlines. Tsolov seems more interested in chasing understanding.
A dominant Melbourne debut for Tsolov
The words meant little without the work to back them up. At Albert Park, Tsolov delivered both.
He started fifth on the grid but climbed to third before the opening lap was done. The lead then fell to him on Lap 3, when Rodin Motorsport teammates Martinius Stenshorne and Alex Dunne collided while fighting for the front position.
When the race restarted on Lap 22, Tsolov did not hesitate. He dived to the inside at Turn 3 and reclaimed the lead from Nico Varrone.
From there, he managed the gap with calm authority, eventually winning by 1.669 seconds.
“Coming into today after a tough day yesterday, I tried to put everything back together and be resilient,” he said after the race. “And managed to take home the win.”
Campos Racing team principal Adrián Campos watched it all unfold and struggled to contain his pride. “You cannot ask for more,” Campos said. “That shows the level that we had last year in F3. It’s a very strong generation that’s coming.”
The podium that day was an all-rookie affair, with Rafael Camara and Laurens van Hoepen joining Tsolov on the rostrum.
Campos fielded two rookies, Tsolov and Noel Leon, marking the first time the team had done so in F2. The result pointed to the depth of talent rising from the 2025 Formula 3 grid.
The Red Bull pathway and F1 precedent
Tsolov races under the banner of the Red Bull Junior Team, and that association carries weight.
Over the past two seasons, Red Bull juniors who performed well with Campos in Formula 2 have earned promotions to Formula 1 with Racing Bulls.
Isack Hadjar made the step in 2025, and Arvid Lindblad followed in 2026.
Tsolov is aware of that history and is confident he could follow the same path. “Historically, there has been Red Bull Juniors from Campos going into F1,” he said via Pit Debrief. “That definitely gives me confidence that if I perform well, I can have the opportunity as well.”
He did not arrive in Melbourne without preparation. A late call-up for the final two rounds of the 2025 F2 season gave him a glimpse of the machinery and the demands it placed on a driver.
Pit stops, race starts, tyre compounds, tyre sizes, all of it was different from anything he had experienced before.
Lindblad, who had completed 12 rounds before Tsolov joined, became a quiet guide through the process.
“It was good to have Arvid alongside me,” Tsolov said. “To learn from him was quite useful for me.”
He finished that 2025 cameo with a podium at Yas Marina’s Sprint Race. It was a foundation, not a fluke.
The F2 season so far and the road ahead
Tsolov leads the 2026 Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship with 25 points after Round 1. Camara and van Hoepen sit level on 18 points each behind him. In the Teams’ Championship, Campos leads on 33 points.
The season has already shifted shape. Rounds 2 and 3, scheduled for Sakhir and Jeddah, were cancelled. The calendar now runs to 12 rounds, making each remaining weekend carry more consequence than originally planned.
Tsolov absorbed that reality after Melbourne. “I know there will be bad days, and I know there will be good days,” he said. “I’m just going to try to stay as consistent as possible throughout the year. And I think that’s what will allow us to win the championship.”
It is a statement of intent. But more than that, it is the voice of a driver who has learned young that the fastest way to the top is often to stop looking up at it.
