Nikola Tsolov secured the F2 Feature race win at Silverstone in Round 7 of the Formula 2 Championship, ahead of Rafael Villagómez and Kush Maini. After his Sprint race on Saturday, Tsolov crossed the chequered flag first and claimed his second win of the weekend, becoming the first driver to get three wins in a row.
Not an ideal start for Câmara
Pole sitter Rafael Câmara had a bad launch, which cost him several positions as the Brazilian fell to fifth. Meanwhile, Kush Maini had the best start and took the lead, ahead of Nikola Tsolov, who made up three positions before turn 1. Behind them, Câmara tried to fight his way back up against Alexander Dunne in fourth, but had to give back his third position to Dunne.
Tyre choices proved to be crucial as the drivers on hard tyres seemed to struggle to warm them up. Meanwhile, the drivers on soft tyres found the pace easier. This gave them a clear pace advantage in the early stages of the F2 Feature race and enabled them to push harder.
On Lap 6, several drivers on the soft compound started pitting. Both leaders, Maini and Tsolov, did it first, followed by Dunne, Câmara, Ritomo Miyata, Roman Bilinski, Nico Varrone, Sebastián Montoya, and Emerson Fittipaldi. However, the top four emerged as it was with Maini leading ahead of Tsolov, Dunne, and Câmara. Meanwhile, Gabriele Mini, who started on hards, stayed out.
At the front, the Bulgarian seemed confident even in those cold tyres as he made his first attempt to overtake Maini. However, the grid settled after that for several laps as drivers started managing their tyres.
Nikola Tsolov doubles it
The F2 Feature race reached its halfway point without any major opportunities or changes. The hard tyre runners still hadn’t pitted, as Maini remained the fastest on track, ahead of Tsolov. As the race progressed, track limits started to become apparent, which could affect the final results with potential penalties.
On Lap 17, as Dino Beganovic and Montoya engaged in a wheel-to-wheel fight, the PREMA Racing driver had to go off track, seemingly with an issue. By the end of the lap, Montoya went into the pits and had to retire the car.
With ten laps remaining, Tsolov closed the gap to Maini and started putting the Alpine Junior under pressure. The Red Bull Junior tried relentlessly until he ultimately made the move stick at the start of Lap 21. In front of them, the drivers on hards started pitting to put on the softs for the last stint of the F2 Feature race.
Ultimately, Nikola Tsolov claimed the F2 Feature race too, making his weekend at Silverstone a double win. This win gave. With this win, Nikola Tsolov became the leader in the Championship standings once again. Rafael Villagómez and Kush Maini completed the podium.
