Nikola Tsolov arrived in Baku leading Formula 2 and left it second. The damage is smaller than it looks: Rafael Câmara is seven points ahead, and there are still two rounds to go.

A weekend of two halves

The opening two races were hard work for the Campos driver. Starting the Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole, Tsolov slipped to fifth. He then retired with damage in Feature Race 1 and took a three-place grid penalty for Feature Race 2 for crossing the pit-entry line.

That is where the 19-year-old Bulgarian responded, climbing from 11th on the grid to second. Without that result the gap to Câmara would now be in double figures.

The numbers

1. Câmara – 207 pts
2. Tsolov – 200 pts (-7)
3. Dunne – 189 pts (-18)
4. Minì – 163 pts (-44)
5. Beganovic – 139 pts (-68)

Against Câmara, Tsolov needs to find seven points in the remaining races. A single Feature Race where he beats the Brazilian by a couple of places would wipe out most of that. The threat also comes from behind: Alexander Dunne is now just 11 points behind and leaves Baku as the driver with momentum.

Minì, Beganovic and the rest are further back and realistically need others to stumble – this is a three-way fight.

What Tsolov needs

Baku showed how costly a qualifying slip or a penalty can be. At Lusail (27–29 November) and the finale, clean weekends will be worth more than any high-risk move.

Source: FIA Formula 2 official website (fiaformula2.com)