In a thrilling race, with action and penalties up and down the field, it was Nikola Tsolov who claimed victory in the first F2 Feature race of the season. With time penalties, collisions and engine issues taking out many at the front of the grid, the race produced fantastic results for many of the drivers. Gabriele Minì started outside the top 20 and finished the race in eighth. IndyCar hopeful Colton Herta was also able to fight from 14th to seventh in his first F2 Feature race. But the important podium positions were claimed by the 2026 F2 rookies. 2025 F3 vice-champion Nikola Tsolov took P1, F3 champion Rafael Câmara finished P2, and rookie Laurens Van Hoepen finished P3.
Read ahead to find out what the drivers had to say about their performance.
A Maiden F2 Victory for Nikola Tsolov
Cool, calm and composed, the young driver became the first Bulgarian driver to win a Formula 2 race. By staying in control of his own race and allowing tyre strategy to come into play, Tsolov reaped the benefits when the RODIN teammates collided with each other in front of him.
“Well, the race was a bit messy, but I knew from the start that I managed to warm up my tyres pretty well…And then after lap one, being in third, I thought. Okay, I’ll just stay back and try to see how the race unfolds, and then we’ll have them later with the strategy. But then, obviously, the two RODINs were very eager to stay in front and stay ahead of each other. So I let them do their thing, which ended up in an incident.”
The Reigning F3 Champion is Ready
To start his Formula 3 campaign last year, Rafael Câmara claimed top spot in Qualifying and the Feature Race. And as we all know, he went on to finish the season as the 2025 Formula 3 champion. Off the back of his success in F3, today’s results seem to indicate that Câmara has maintained his champion form into his rookie F2 season. He spoke positively about the results from today; it is a good sign for what is to come from the young Brazilian driver.
“I would say it was a very positive start to the championship. Especially after yesterday, I was very close to getting a podium, and I think getting P2 today, I’m quite happy. It was a clean race, and I’m happy to end the weekend like this…Quali almost ruined everything because I saw that after the Red Flag, it was quite a big mess to open the lap…But yeah, I think we managed to just keep it in the top 10; that was good enough to fight for points.”
A Confidence Boost for Van Hoepen
Laurens Van Hoepen may not have had the most enthralling Formula 3 season last year, but he started his rookie F2 season with a bang. Points, although reduced, in yesterday’s Sprint and a third-place podium today, put the Dutch driver into third in the championship. For a driver who started outside the top 10 in both races, this weekend’s results give him a lot of confidence heading into the next round of the Formula 2 season. For TRIDENT, this podium is also their first in F2 since 2024, and they will be hoping that this weekend’s results are indicative of what is to come in 2025.
“Super happy. I think we had a really good race starting from P11 for sure. Wasn’t really expecting to be on the podium, but I think the team and I did an amazing job. Pit stops were really good from the team as well. We managed to drop a position there and then. Also, the pace was pretty strong. I mean, we’re able to keep the guys behind and also even at some point catch Nico and Rafa in front.”
The Next Generation
The rookies dominated today’s race and proved that this generation of up-and-coming drivers is ready to fight for the next F1 seat.
“We’re a good generation coming for sure. I never doubted that I would share a Podium with Rafa. Especially, you know, we were both in teams that were fighting for the championship last year.” – Nikola Tsolov on the all rookie podium
The top 10 in the Championship Standings after the Melbourne Feature Race:
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1 | N. Tsolov | 25 |
| 2 | R. Câmara | 18 |
| 3 | L. van Hoepen | 18 |
| 4 | R. Miyata | 14 |
| 5 | T. Inthraphuvasak | 13 |
| 6 | O. Goethe | 12 |
| 7 | J. Dürksen | 11 |
| 8 | N. León | 8 |
| 9 | G. Minì | 7 |
| 10 | C. Herta | 6 |
Formula 2 will hopefully be back for Round 2 on the streets of Bahrain on the 10th of April.
Feature Image Credit: Formula 2