F2: The Sunday race in Monaco was won by Nikola Tsolov.

      From pole position in the main race of the weekend in Monaco, Rafael Camara, the qualifying winner from Friday, started, but alongside him in the same front row was Nikola Zolov, one of the Brazilian's main rivals. The fast Bulgarian driver from Campos Racing had just three points less, and of course, he was eager to improve his standings.

      Before the Sunday race, he had 36 points, was in fifth place in the championship, and with a bit of luck, Zolov had a chance to move up two or three spots. To jump ahead, let's say he succeeded.

      Camara got off to a great start, while Zolov had to defend against Alex Dunn, who started the race from third position, but the Brit was more focused on fending off Dino Beganovic's attack. Mini overtook the hesitant Martinus Stenshorn at the start, but the main thing was that there were no major incidents, although there were some minor contacts between cars, but everyone continued racing.

      After three laps, when the tires had warmed up properly, Zolov increased the pressure on the leader, getting right up close, but he did not take any active actions, hoping Camara would make a mistake. In any case, mandatory pit stops were ahead, and one of the first to dive into the pit lane after seven laps was Sebastian Montoya, returning to the track in 20th position.

      Rafael Villagomez, who was running 21st after an even earlier visit to the pits, immediately took advantage of Sebastian's cold tires and launched an attack. The son of a former IndyCar, Formula 1, and NASCAR driver did not give up, but made a mistake while braking exiting the tunnel, locking up and ruining his tires. He also had to cut the chicane, but Villagomez still gained a position.

      On lap 11, Camara also cut the chicane – probably his tires were already somewhat worn, but he continued to lead, while Zolov kept pursuing him, staying half a second behind the yellow Dallara of the Invicta Racing team.

      By lap 15, this pair had pulled away from the rest of the pack by a couple of seconds; drivers in positions three to six were racing in a very tight group, while Noel Leon, yesterday's sprint winner, had fallen two seconds behind Stenshorn.

      It was clear that the entire top ten was waiting, trying to track possible tactical maneuvers from their rivals and would react to each other's pit stops.

      As the midpoint of the race approached, Camara was leading, and Gabriel Bortoleto, an Audi F1 driver and Rafael's compatriot, appeared in the pit lane – it was clear who he was rooting for and would gladly congratulate Camara on his success. But first, the race still needed to be brought to victory, and that was far from a certain prospect.

      By lap 20, Zolov had fallen slightly behind the leader, but he once again recorded the fastest lap of the race.

      The moment for pit stops was inevitably approaching; close-ups showed that the tires on some cars were already quite worn.

      Also captured by the cameras set up in the pit lane was Lewis Hamilton in an elegant loose-fitting pink suit – interesting, who was the seven-time world champion supporting? Perhaps Dino Beganovic, a student at the Ferrari Racing Academy, who was still running fourth?

      Gabriel Mini dove into the pit lane on lap 25, but the pit stop took a bit longer, and the Italian returned to the track only in 16th place. He was immediately overtaken by Montoya, who was on properly warmed tires. Following him, Sebastian gained another position, passing Roman Bilinski, who had just exited the pits as well.

      The Pole continued to lose positions as he locked up and drove somewhat unconfidently, and Leon passed him. But these events were happening outside the top ten, while the leading group of drivers was not in a hurry to go for fresh tires, even though there were fewer laps left until the finish.

      Nikola Zolov was called into the pits by the Campos team on lap 33. At the same time, Stenshorn visited the pit lane, and they returned to the track in fifth and seventh places, respectively. A lap later, Camara went in for fresh tires; the Invicta team executed a clear pit stop, and Rafael returned to the track in third position, clearly ahead of Zolov.

      However, the subsequent events unfolded as follows: Zolov caught up with Camara on lap 35, forcing him to make a mistake while braking at the first corner, and ultimately the Dallara of the former leader, with locked front wheels, flew into the safety zone. This ended the race for the Brazilian.

      The team was outraged over the radio, demanding an explanation from Camara about what happened, but he simply replied that the cold tires did not provide any grip on the track.

      On lap 38 of 42, Kush Maini was leading, having not yet been to the pits, while Nikola Zolov was comfortably in second. Nothing could really hinder his victory, as Alex Dunn was almost five seconds behind him, followed by a whole group of drivers who still needed to pit, and Dino Beganovic, who was currently sixth, was vying for third place.

      Those who had delayed their mandatory tire change until the last moment were hoping for a safety car, but the race went on without serious incidents, and the finish was getting closer. The last wave of pit stops occurred on lap 41. At this point, it became known that the stewards decided to add 10 seconds of penalty time to Colton Herta's result, who was already running only 16th, for some violation in the pit lane.

      Nikola Zolov crossed the finish line first, nine seconds ahead of Alex Dunn, claiming his third victory in Formula 2. However, no one has doubted the potential of this Bulgarian driver, a participant in the Red Bull youth program, for a long time.

      Dino Beganovic climbed to third place just before the finish, managing to overtake Maini, who had delayed his pit stop until the last moment, and this tactic almost brought the Indian success. But the tires were still cold, and he could not withstand the decisive attack from the Swedish DAMS driver.

      Nikola, commenting on his achievement right after the race, reminded that he had won twice in Monaco in Formula 3 and now repeated this success in F2, adding that he had avenged his poor performance in the previous round in Canada.

      Since Mini finished outside the top ten, Zolov gained 26 points from him, also receiving an additional point for the fastest lap. Gabriele continues to lead in the individual standings of the series, but if Nikola, buoyed by today's victory, continues to progress as rapidly, the balance of power will inevitably change soon. Now he is just one point behind Mini, and the next round of the youth series will take place next weekend in Barcelona.

      Race results

      

      

       Driver

       Team

       Time/Difference

      

      

      

      

       1. N.Zolov

       Campos Racing

       1:00'19.442

      

      

       2. A.Dunn

       Rodin Motorsport

       +9.013

      

      

       3. D.Beganovic

       DAMS

       +26.471

      

      

       4. K.Maini

       ART Grand Prix

       +30.203

      

      

       5. M.Stenshorn

       Rodin Motorsport

       +30.294

      

      

       6. R.Miata

       Hitech

       +30.859

      

      

       7. E.Fittipaldi

       AIX Racing

       +40.542

      

      

       8. S.Montoya

       Prema Racing

       +42.157

      

      

       9. N.Leon

       Campos Racing

       +42.506

      

      

       10. R.Bilinski

       DAMS

       +43.015

      

      

       11. G.Mini

       MP Motorsport

       +43.573

      

      

       12. L.van Hoopen

       Trident

       +47.323

      

      

       13. T.Intrafuwasak

       ART Grand Prix

       +48.010

      

      

       14. O.Gyote

       MP Motorsport

       +55.610

      

      

       15. D.Durksen

       Invicta Racing

       +1'05.734

      

      

       16. M.Boya

       Prema Racing

       +1'10.603

      

      

       17. K.Shields

       AIX Racing

       +1'10.691

      

      

       18. D.Bennett

       Trident

       +1'13.229

      

      

       19. C.Herta

       Hitech

       +1'15.197

      

      

       20. N.Varrone

       Van Amersfoort Racing

       +1'17.159

      

      

       21. R.Villagomez

       Van Amersfoort Racing

       +1'21.546

      

      

        – R.Camara

       Invicta Racing

       retirement