Nikola Tsolov scored a record victory in Formula 3
Nikola Tsolov won Sunday's Formula 3 race in Monaco, taking a record fifth victory in this youth series. Roman Bilinsky and Marie Boy joined him on the podium.
It was sunny in Monaco on Sunday morning, the air warmed up to +19C, and the track reached +22C. James Headley, who suffered a hand injury in the sprint the day before, could not take part in the race.
At the start, Nikola Tsolov took full advantage of the pole position and retained the lead. Roman Bilinsky rather harshly repelled the attack of Marie Boi in the first corner in the fight for second place. Otherwise, the start was quite calm, and there was only one change of positions in the top ten – Tim Tramnitz overtook Noel Leon in the fight for fifth place.
On the second lap out of twenty-seven Tsolov showed the best lap and pulled away from Bilinsky for a second. At the end of the lap, Bruno del Pino returned to the pits due to damage to the car after contact with Nicola Marinangeli. With five laps left, Bruno returned to the track to gain valuable driving experience on a challenging urban track.
In the first laps, the riders fought a tactical battle – no one made any actual attempts to attack, but many exerted pressure on the rivals ahead, staying in the DRS zone.
By the ninth round, Tsolov's lead over Bilinsky was two seconds, while Roman himself was 1.1 seconds ahead of the Fight. In turn, Callum Voisin, who was five tenths behind the Spaniard, pressed the fight.
On lap twelve, Gerard Xi, who was in 26th place, turned into the pits to replace the tires. The team suspected a puncture of the front left wheel.
On lap fifteen, Brad Benavidez received a 10-second penalty for driving off the track and gaining an advantage. In fact, he cut off the chicane at the exit of the tunnel in a fight with Ivan Dominguez.
On the sixteenth, Nicola Lacorte received instructions from the team to return to the pits. The DAMS racer got off due to technical problems with the car.
By the seventeenth lap, Tsolov's advantage over Bilinsky had grown to seven seconds. Mario got close to Roman in the DRS zone, continuing to put pressure on the Rodin Motorsport racer in the fight for second place.
But all of Tsolov's efforts to create a breakaway were in vain, as on lap eighteen, Noel Leon crashed his car in turn eight, and a safety car pulled onto the track. The marshals quickly removed Leon's car, and the race resumed on the twentieth lap.
The restart was quiet for the leaders, but Charlie Wurz, who was in sixth place, did not follow the team's instructions in a car with a previously damaged front wing and did not go to the pits at the end of the lap. Wurz was losing ground, and on lap twenty-one, he crashed into a steel barrier at turn three. On the same lap, Badoer crashed his car in turn eight, and a safety car entered the track for the second time.
The race resumed on lap twenty-four, but behind the top three, Rafael Camara's rear right wheel detached from the car. The leader of the individual competition on three wheels returned to the pits and got off. The marshals quickly removed the wheel from the track, so there was no safety car.
Nikola Tsolov confidently led the race to his second victory of the season. On the last lap, the Campos Racing driver showed the best lap, thanks to which he earned the maximum 26 points. The result allowed the Bulgarian rider to rise to third place in the individual competition.
Roman Bilinsky's second place was his best result in his career. Mario Boy finished third and reached the podium for the first time since last year's stage in Barcelona.
Pilot
Team
Circles
1. N. Tsolov
Campos Racing
27
2. R.Bilinsky
Rodin Motorsport
27
3.
M.de Campos Racing
27
4. K.Voisin
Rodin Motorsport
27
5. T.Tramnitz
MP Motorsport
27
6. L. van Hoepen
ART Grand Prix
27
7. T.Taponen
ART Grand Prix
27
8. M.Stenshorn
Hitech TGR
27
9. L.Sharpe
Rodin Motorsport
27
10. A.Just
MP Motorsport
27
11. D.Wharton
ART Grand Prix
27
12. D.Dufek
Hitech TGR
27
13. T.Intrafuvasak
Campos Racing
27
14. N. Stromsted
Trident
27
15. K.Ho
DAMS Lucas Oil
27
16. U.Ugochukwu
Prema Racing
27
17. M.Zagazeta
DAMS Lucas Oil
27
18. S.Ramos
Van Amersfoort Racing
27
19. J.Si
Hitech TGR
27
20. I. Dominguez
Van Amersfoort Racing
27
21. N. Marinangeli
AIX Racing
27
-. T.Nael
Van Amersfoort Racing
26
- R.Kamara
Trident
22
-. Ch.Wurz
Trident
20
-. B.Badoer
Prema Racing
20
-. B.Benavides
AIX Racing
19
- N.Leon
Prema Racing
17
- N. Lacorte
DAMS Lucas Oil
14
- B.del Pino
MP Motorsport
22
-. D.Hedley
AIX Racing
0
Personal credit
Pilot
Team
Glasses
1. R.Kamara
Trident
77
2. T.Tramnitz
MP Motorsport
64
3. N.Tsolov
Campos Racing
61
4. N. Stromsted
Trident
52
5. t.Taponen
ART Grand Prix
51
6. K.Voisin
Rodin Motorsport
40
7. R.Bilinsky
Rodin Motorsport
38
8. p.Ramos
Van Amersfoort Racing
35
9. M.Stenshorn
Hitech TGR
35
10.
M.de Campos Racing
32
11. A.Giusti
MP Motorsport
25
12. T.Nael
Van Amersfoort Racing
19
13. L. van Hoepen
ART Grand Prix
17
14. N. Bedrin
AIX Racing
17
15. Ch.Wurz
Trident
15
16. T.Intrafuvasak
Campos Racing
13
17. B.del Pino
MP Motorsport
11
18. L. Sharpe
Rodin Motorsport
11
19. F.Slater
AIX Racing
10
20. M.Zagazeta
DAMS Lucas Oil
6
21. U.Ugochukwu
Prema Racing
4
22. K.Ho
DAMS Lucas Oil
4
23. N.Leon
Prema Racing
3
24. D.Dufek
Hitech TGR
0
25. D. Wharton
ART Grand Prix
0
26. B. Benavides
AIX Racing
0
27. N. Lacorte
DAMS Lucas Oil
0
28. X.Sagrera
AIX Racing
0
29. J.Si
Hitech TGR
0
30. B.Badoer
Prema Racing
0
31. D. Hedley
AIX Racing
0
32. I. Dominguez
Van Amersfoort Racing
0
33. N. Marinangeli
AIX Racing
0
Other articles
90 minutes before the start: Oscar Piastri's comment
Oscar Piastri starts third in Monaco and aims to fight…
Monaco Grand Prix: The starting field
The starting field of the Monaco Grand Prix...
120 minutes before the start: Lando Norris' comment
Lando Norris starts from pole position in Monaco and aims to win…
80 minutes before the start: Isaac Hajjar's comment
Isaac Hajjar achieved the best result of his career in qualifying on Saturday, and today he hopes for the best result in the race.…
110 minutes before the start: Charles Leclair's comment
Charles Leclair starts second on his home track and hopes to win.…
Formula 2: A strange race in Monaco was won by Crawford
Sunday's Formula 2 race was an example of the utter chaos that motorsport competitions can turn into at the legendary Monaco circuit...
Nikola Tsolov scored a record victory in Formula 3
Nikola Tsolov won Sunday's Formula 3 race in Monaco, taking a record fifth victory in this youth series.