FEATURE RACE: Tsolov achieves record-breaking victory as he dominates in Monte Carlo

Nikola Tsolov became the first ever driver to achieve five FIA Formula 3 wins after taking a light-to-flag victory at Sunday’s Monte Carlo Feature Race.

Starting on pole, the Campos Racing driver made a great start before going on to win by over seven seconds. Roman Bilinski finished second for Rodin Motorsport, while Tsolov’s Campos teammate Mari Boya joined him on the podium in third.

AS IT HAPPENED

It was a strong start for Tsolov, who got away well at lights out to keep the lead, but behind him the battle for a place in the top three got off to a fast start.

Bilinski immediately covered off Boya, but the Rodin driver was coming under attack from the Spaniard and his teammate Callum Voisin.

The Polish driver was able to keep the position, but Voisin then had a look to the inside of Boya at Turn 4, although the Campos #10 was able to shut the door.

The race settled down at the start of Lap 6, with Boya right on the back of Bilinski, just three-tenths separating the pair.

Behind them though and having overtaken Noel León at the start to go to fifth, Tim Tramnitz was closing in on the back of Voisin, who was also chasing down Boya for P3.

Lap 10 of 27 and Bilinski, having set the fastest lap on the previous tour, was within DRS range of Tsolov, and had built a 2.3s clear of Boya in third.

Tsolov fought back on the next lap though, and by Lap 13, the Campos driver had built his lead back up to two seconds.

By Lap 15, Tsolov was over four seconds clear in front, while Voisin had closed back up to within 0.6s of Boya in the battle for the final spot on the podium.

Tsolov now 7.5s clear of Bilinski was the only driver in the top 10 lapping in the 1:26s. However, the Bulgarian’s big lead was taken away after the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 19, following León’s collision with the barrier at Portier.

His PREMA Racing’s car was cleared and racing resumed on Lap 20, but there was a problem for TRIDENT’s Charlie Wurz. In P6, the Austrian was running with a broken front wing.

Laurens van Hoepen made his way through at Tabac, but on the next lap, Wurz found the barrier Massanet, releasing the drivers behind him.

The Safety Car was soon out on track again with PREMA’s Brando Badoer stopped at Portier after a tangle with Nicola Marinangeli. The AIX Racing driver was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.

The action resumed on Lap 24 of 27 and it was more bad news for TRIDENT, as Rafael Câmara lost the rear right wheel on track, forcing him to retire from the race.

Out in front, Tsolov had marched off into the distance once more and was three seconds clear of Bilinski at the start of Lap 26.

Onto the final lap, and Voisin was fighting hard to get ahead of Boya, even brushing the barrier at Turn 1. Tsolov though had marched off into the distance and crossed the line to win for the fifth time in Formula 3.

Bilinski finished second, while Boya held off Voisin to take his first podium of the season, with Tramnitz in fifth. ART Grand Prix pairing van Hoepen and Tuukka Taponen finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne in P8.

Louis Sharp made it three Rodin cars in the points, as MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti rounded out the top 10.

KEY QUOTE – Nikola Tsolov, Campos Racing

“Feels amazing. I think it’s redemption time, the season started more difficult that an expected and it’s a good track to do it and gives me a lot of confidence going into the season. A good track to do it and I could not be happier.”

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

TRIDENT’s Rafael Câmara continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship but he stays on 77 points. Tim Tramnitz is second 64 points, just three clear of Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov after his Feature Race victory. Noah Stromsted in fourth on 52 points, a point ahead of Tuukka Taponen in fifth.

In the Teams’ Championship, TRIDENT stay in the lead on 144 points, while Campos Racing jump up to second on 106. MP Motorsport are third on 100 points, with Rodin Motorsport fourth on 89 and ART Grand Prix fifth on 68.

UP NEXT

The drivers will have a short turnaround before the next race weekend with Barcelona the venue for Round 5 from May 30 – June 1. Who will come out on top in the final round of the triple-header?