Nikola Tsolov emerged victorious at the 2026 F2 Feature Race held at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, winning by a margin of 1.6 seconds ahead of Rafael Camara. This event served as a support race for the Australian Grand Prix, and Tsolov's performance marked a strong start to his season in Formula 2.
"It feels incredible to take my first win of the season here in Melbourne," said Tsolov, representing Campos Racing. "The team worked really hard, and it was great to convert that into a win today."
Finishing behind Tsolov was Rafael Camara from Invicta Racing, who secured second place after a solid showing throughout the race. "We gave it everything and managed to fight our way back up to second. I’m happy with that, although I always aim for more," Camara remarked.
Completing the podium was Laurens van Hoepen from Trident, who expressed excitement about his position in the race. "Today was a tough battle but I’m pleased to finish in third. There are more races to come and I aim to build on this momentum."
The 33-lap race faced several interruptions that added to the drama. It began with a collision between Rodin team-mates Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne at the first corner. Dunne cut across Stenshorne, resulting in both drivers retiring and necessitating the deployment of a safety car.
"It was unfortunate that we collided so early. We were pushing hard and things got out of hand; it’s a learning curve for us as a team," said Dunne, reflecting on the incident.
Adding to the challenges, pole sitter Dino Beganovic encountered reliability issues with his DAMS Lucas Oil machine, which ultimately halted his race and prompted a Virtual Safety Car period. "I was confident about my chances starting from pole, but it’s frustrating when machinery lets you down like that," Beganovic explained.
Prior to the start, Sebastian Montoya faced an unexpected setback when he collided with Roman Bilinski in the pit lane, causing damage to the DAMS Lucas Oil car. "It was not the way I imagined starting the race. I need to learn from this and come back stronger for the next one," Montoya admitted.
The race results, which remain provisional, reflect the performances of the drivers:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Nikola Tsolov | Campos Racing | 25 | | 2 | Rafael Camara | Invicta Racing | 18 | | 3 | Laurens van Hoepen | Trident | 15 | | 4 | Oliver Goethe | MP Motorsport | 12 | | 5 | Ritomo Miyata | Hitech | 10 | | 6 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | ART Grand Prix | 8 | | 7 | Colton Herta | Hitech | 6 | | 8 | Gabriele Mini | MP Motorsport | 4 | | 9 | Sebastian Montoya | Prema Racing | 2 | | 10 | Joshua Dürksen | Invicta Racing | 1 | | 11 | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | - | | 12 | Roman Bilinski | DAMS Lucas Oil | - | | 13 | Mari Boya | Prema Racing | - | | 14 | Noel Leon | Campos Racing | - | | 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. | AIX Racing | - | | 16 | Kush Maini | ART Grand Prix | - | | 17 | Nicolas Varrone | Van Amersfoort Racing | - | | 18 | John Bennett | Trident | - | | 19 | Cian Shields | AIX Racing | - | | OUT | Dino Beganovic | DAMS Lucas Oil | - | | OUT | Martinius Stenshorne | Rodin Motorsport | - | | OUT | Alex Dunne | Rodin Motorsport | - |
Looking ahead, teams will reflect on their strategies and performance as they prepare for the next round of the F2 championship. The unpredictable nature of motorsport suggests further excitement is in store as they head to the following track.
