Nikola Tsolov took victory in the Miami Sprint Race, making history as the first driver to take a Formula 2 victory around the Miami International Autodrome.
After a tense battle between Toslov and Laurens Van Hoepen, the Red Bull Junior came out victorious by the finest margins, with Alex Dunne close on the duo’s tail for the final step of the podium.
Tsolov lined up in pole position for the Sprint Race, having qualified tenth for Feature Race on Sunday. After taking victory in the Feature Race in Australia, Tsolov looked eager to repeat the performance and take the top step. Van Hoepen started the race second, lined up next to the Campos driver and equally looking to take the lead into the first corner.
It was a disaster for the Feature Race polesitter, Kush Maini, who failed to get off the line for the formation lap, his Alpine-liveried ART being pushed to the pit lane where he would start the Sprint Race. Another moment of bad luck for the driver who was plagued by struggles in his F2 career.
As the lights went out, Tsolov dove to cover Van Hoepen into the first corner, holding onto the lead. The Trident was forced to settle for second with Joshua Duerksen tight on its gearbox. Alex Dunne, in his Rodin, had a strong start, lunging down the inside and taking fifth place.
Dino Beganovic, in his DAMS Lucas Oil machinery, made it past Oliver Goethe’s MP. Rafa Camara lost places in the opening stages, dropping from ninth to 11th in the opening lap.
Tsolov held the lead
On Lap 2, Tsolov felt the first challenge for the lead, with Van Hoepen closing the gap to just 0.3s. The Red Bull junior ran wide on Lap 3, closing the gap even further as the Trident lunged around the outside but locked up slightly into the corner, allowing Tsolov to stay in the lead. However, the fighting left Duerksen’s Invicta joining in, and Dunne not far behind either.
Further back, Maritniuys Stenshorne looked down the inside of Gabriele Mini into the final corner, but Mini held strong and kept ahead of the Rodin onto the straight.
Van Hoepen was under pressure from Duerksen, who dove down the inside of the Trident, his impressive late braking putting him ahead of the Trident and into second place. The Invicta driver immediately marched on to close the gap to the lead. Tsolov responded by putting in a purple first sector, but the gap remained within DRS range.
Unfortunately for Duerksen, a slight mistake put him back in the fighting range of Van Hoepen, who made quick work of taking back second place from the Invicta on Lap 7.
Further back in the field, Roman Bilinski had stormed through the field, starting the race 20th and making his way up to 13th. The Polish driver was unable to put any laps on the board in practice and came into qualifying blind, but in the Sprint Race seemed to find the pace in the DAMS Lucas Oil car underneath him. On Lap 12, he got past the home hero, Colton Herta, and moved into 12th place.
Mistakes upfront
On Lap 9, the gap for the lead came down as Tsolov took too much kerb and slid on the track down to turn 17. Van Hoepen took a look down the inside of the Red Bull Junior but was too far back to make the pass. Once again, Duerksen used the fighting to join the fight, hoping to get involved in the fight for the lead.
Bilinski was back under pressure from Herta, but also with Brad Benavides and Ritomo Miyata all within DRS of one another.
On Lap 11, Tsolov ran wide and cut the chicane, forcing the Red Bull junior to slow slightly in hopes of avoiding a penalty for gaining an advantage. With the Trident close on his gearbox, the gap was just 0.4s into Lap 12.
Bilinski once again defended from Herta, going side by side down the start-finish straight but holding his position into Turn 1. The Polish driver’s defence was harsh. But as Herta dove again, Bilinski ran wide at Turn 11 in the fight. He rejoined the track but lost places and settled for 15th.
It was finally a respite for Van Hoepen as he made it past Tsolov and into the lead. Duerksen held onto third, but Nico Varrone in his VAR was on his gearbox. On Lap 15, Varrone made a lunging run around the outside of Duerksen but was just too far back to hold onto the position. Duerksen stayed ahead.
However, Tsolov wasn’t ready to give up the lead as he dove down the inside, and Van Hoepen didn’t put up a fight. A Lap later, Van Hoepen had the DRS and made it past the Campos, but Tsolov was still on his tail, and once again the duo swapped positions.
Dunne joined the fight
Dunne made it past Varrone after patiently waiting behind the top four. Finally, the Rodin driver looked ot make a move on Duerksen, but he locked up into the corner running wide and losing time.
The mistake cost the Irishman as Varrone closed the gap to the Rodin. With just a 0.3s gap, he was closing on Dunne, but he wasn’t the only one. Behind Varrone, all within DRS range were Stenshorne, Mini, Beganovic and Noel Leon.
The alpine-liveried Alpine closed the gap to Duerksen once again and made a lunge down the inside and finally made it stick. Dunne moved into third, but the fight was far from over as the others closed in.
Tsolov and Van Hoepen went side by side around the circuit once again on Lap 21, the Trident going around the outside of the Campos into Turn 17. However, Tsolov defended and held the lead.
Tsolov and Van Hoepen fought hard, the Trident diving down the inside but just not stopping his car on time, the Campos having the run in the inside into the next corner and holding onto the lead. Behind Dunne rapidly closed the gap, close to the DRS range.
Tsolov vs Van Hoepen
On Lap 23, the gap was 0.2s between the top two, and Dunne was within DRS range. The top three were all in contention for victory. As Turn 11 approached, Van Hoepen took the lead but locked up in the exit. Tsolov was back on his tail, but the Trident held on to first place.
Into Turn 17, Tsolov made it past Van Hoepen around the outside with the Trident riding the kerb and narrowly avoiding contact. Dunne took the inside line, looking at a potential opportunity, but was unable to get close enough to make it stick.
The Campos driver took the first F2 victory in Miami, making it back-to-back victories for Tsolov. Van Hoepen took second, and Dunne settled for the final step on the podium.
Varrone took VAR to his best F2 race finish in fourth, and Duerksen finished in fifth after fighting for the podium for most of the Sprint Race. Stenshorne stayed ahead of Mini, taking sixth and seventh with Dino Beganovic in the final points position in eighth.
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