Tsolov claims another podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps
The eighth round of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 campaign at Spa-Francorchamps, held as part of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, proved to be a true test of resilience and determination for Campos Racing and its drivers. Both Nikola Tsolov and Noel León had to overcome significant adversity around the iconic Ardennes circuit. Nevertheless, the overall outcome once again proved highly rewarding. Tsolov arrived in Belgium leading the championship and leaves with an even bigger advantage, while Campos Racing also remains at the top of the Teams' standings. León, who had to start both races from the back of the grid, produced an outstanding recovery drive on Sunday thanks to the team's perfectly judged strategy, although he was later disqualified from the classification for a pit lane infringement during the red flag period.
They say that whoever strikes first strikes twice, and that certainly seemed to be Tsolov's mindset after topping Friday morning's free practice session. After completing nine laps, the "Bulgarian Lion" posted a best time of 1m58.927s, almost two tenths of a second clear of Martinius Stenshorne. León completed the top five with a fastest lap of 1m59.390s, giving the team every reason to be optimistic ahead of qualifying later that afternoon.
Unfortunately, qualifying quickly became complicated for León. Exiting the pit lane on cold tyres, the Mexican spun and came to a halt on the circuit. The incident triggered a red flag and, although León never even touched the gravel and his car remained undamaged, the stewards deleted all of his qualifying lap times due to a red flag for safety reasons, forcing him to start both races from the back of the grid after cancelling his 10th-fastest lap time. Tsolov, meanwhile, remained in contention for pole position throughout the session before eventually securing fourth place on the grid with a lap of 1m56.699s.
Saturday's Sprint Race was scheduled over 18 laps, with Tsolov lining up seventh on the reversed grid. When the lights went out, the Bulgarian immediately climbed to fifth place through La Source after an excellent start. León also gained several positions before his progress was abruptly halted. As soon as the safety car was deployed on lap six, León headed into the pits and was forced to retire with a technical issue. At the restart on lap eight, Tsolov immediately began pressuring Dino Beganovic and, once the Swede overtook Sebas Montoya, the Colombian became the Campos Racing driver's next target. Another safety car on lap 14 bunched up the field once more, leaving just one lap of green-flag racing at the finish. Tsolov wasted no time and made a decisive move on Montoya into La Source to snatch fourth place, which he maintained to the chequered flag.
Sunday's Feature Race, scheduled over 25 laps, promised to be even more strategically demanding. As on Saturday, Tsolov gained a position through the opening corner, while León avoided the stalled Beganovic as well as Gabriele Minì and Roman Bilinski, who became tangled together at La Source. Those incidents prompted the first safety car, which León used to make his opening pit stop. Racing resumed two laps later and Tsolov once again impressed around the outside of La Source, overtaking Rafael Câmara. Having climbed as high as second, the Campos Racing driver was forced onto the gravel after being squeezed by the Brazilian, losing two further positions to Alex Dunne and Joshua Dürksen in the process. With his supersoft tyres badly damaged, Tsolov pitted on lap six to switch onto the medium compound. Upon rejoining behind Laurens van Hoepen, the Dutchman suddenly lost control in front of him at Turn 8 and crashed heavily into the barriers. Tsolov managed to avoid the stranded car, but van Hoepen's accident brought out another safety car. Moments before it was deployed, Campos Racing called León in for his second and final pit stop. The timing proved inspired, handing the Mexican the virtual race lead ahead of Câmara. Shortly afterwards, Race Control suspended the race with a red flag due to the debris and fluids left on the circuit following van Hoepen's accident.
After almost half an hour, the race resumed behind a rolling start with the order unchanged from the end of lap nine. Twenty-two minutes remained. León was running ninth but had eight drivers ahead of him on older tyres. He first overtook Cian Shields with a brave move around the outside at the Bus Stop chicane, although traffic subsequently allowed both Câmara and Dunne to repass him with the aid of DRS. Moments later, Emerson Fittipaldi became stranded in the gravel, prompting yet another safety car. By then León had climbed to third while Tsolov was running fifth. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 14, with Tsolov overtaking Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak along the Kemmel Straight. Another factor then came into play: track limits penalties. León received one, as did Dunne. León therefore focused on building as much of a gap as possible to minimise the positions he would lose, while Tsolov remained firmly in podium contention. The chequered flag fell after 21 laps, with Tsolov securing third place by just four tenths of a second. León was classified seventh after an outstanding recovery drive from the back of the grid, although he was later disqualified from the classification for a pit lane infringement during the red flag period.
Tsolov now leads the Drivers' Championship with 161 points, holding a 27-point advantage over Minì. León remains fifth with 69 points, while Campos Racing continues to lead the Teams' Championship with 230 points, 64 clear of its closest rival.
The championship now heads to the Hungaroring next weekend for the final round before the summer break.
