Nikola Tsolov finished fifth in the sprint race at “Monza“ and increased his lead at the top of the general standings of Formula 2. The Bulgarian driver won four points and now has a 24-point lead over Rafael Camara and Gabriele Mini, BTA reports. Tsolov started from eighth position, after setting the sixth fastest time in qualifying. Due to a three-place penalty imposed by the FIA, he was unable to take advantage of the inverted grid rule, which would otherwise have ensured him a fifth-place start.
The Bulgarian made a strong start to the race and overtook Alex Dunn on the first lap. At the end of the second lap, Tsolov also passed Ritomo Miyata, but the Japanese and Noel Leon managed to bring him back to eighth position. It was then that The safety car came out on the track after an incident with Rafael Camara. The title contender was hit and spun, which further changed the course of the race.
After the restart, Tsolov overtook Miyata again. At the beginning of the 13th lap, the Bulgarian launched an attack on Tasanapol Intrapuvashak and climbed to sixth place, directly behind his teammate Noel Leon. The race was again delayed by the safety car, and after the subsequent restart, the two Campos drivers managed to overtake Martinius Stenshorn. This allowed Tsolov to take fifth position, which he maintained until the finish.
The victory went to Joshua Dirksen of Invicta. The German won with a lead of 1.2 seconds over Jon Bennett, and Oliver Goethe completed the podium. Noel Leon finished fourth, directly ahead of Tsolov. Dirksen recorded his third victory of the season, while Tsolov took an important step in the battle for the title.
The Bulgarian started the race day with a 20-point lead over Kamara and Mini. However, Kamara was eliminated after the incident, and Mini remained outside the points zone. Thus, the four points won by Tsolov turned out to be enough to increase his lead to 24 points.
The main race at “Monza“ is coming up, in which the Formula 2 leader will have a new opportunity to increase his lead in the championship even further.