Nikola Tsolov finished 10th in qualifying for the Formula 2 round in Baku, but despite this, the Bulgarian driver received an excellent starting position for the sprint race.
The session started 15 minutes late due to problems with the asphalt in the seventh turn. The organizers reacted quickly and after the irregularities were eliminated, the qualification was held according to the program.
Tsolov will have the opportunity to start from pole position in the sprint, after the qualifying result is turned around for the starting grid of the race. The pole position in qualifying was won by Alex Dunn, while one of the Bulgarian's main rivals – Rafa Camara, remained fifth.
Tsolov started strong
At the beginning of the qualifying session, Nikola Tsolov recorded a time of 1:55.957 minutes, which gave him fifth position. Alex Dunn, Kush Maini, Martinus Stenshorn and his teammate Noel Leon lined up in front of him.
Rafa Camara was immediately behind the Bulgarian driver.
In the following minutes, Tsolov failed to improve his performance and gradually dropped to ninth place. At the same time, Camara received a good pull from his teammate Dirksen and moved up to fifth position.
In the final minutes, most drivers also failed to improve their times. The only exception was Dino Beganovic, who made a strong lap at the very end of the session.
Camara started strongly in the second heat
At the beginning of the next heat, Rafa Camara set the fastest time. Nikola Tsolov was fourth, with Noel Leon and Alex Dunn in between.
However, the times remained unchanged in the second fast laps. About four minutes before the end, Tsolov and his teammate went back to the pits and did not make another attempt to improve.
In the final standings, the Bulgarian driver remained 10th, but this will provide him with the first starting position in the sprint race - an excellent opportunity for Tsolov to fight for a strong result in Baku.