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Eight rounds into the 14-round Formula 2 season, three drivers from Formula 1 academies have emerged as clear title contenders, with a fourth remaining a dark horse. Ben Vinel from motorsport.com offers his analysis on the evolving battle for the Formula 2 championship.
Red Bull junior team member Nikola Tsolov currently leads the standings with 161 points, followed by Alpine Academy driver Gabriele Mini (134), Ferrari Academy's Rafael Camara (125), and Alex Dunn (108), also backed by Alpine.
Tsolov, competing for Campos Racing, is arguably the most impressive of the bunch, already boasting six victories, including a record-equalling three consecutive wins in Formula 2, a feat only matched by Davide Valsecchi in the GP2 era.
Mini is the most consistent driver. He has only one win but has finished in the top eight in 14 races with MP Motorsport. Exceptions include the Monaco feature race, where a slow pit stop hampered him while running fifth, and the Spa-Francorchamps sprint, where he was 12th before a technical issue forced him out.
Following in the footsteps of champions Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli at Invicta Racing, Camara has secured four of the last five pole positions, helping him clinch two feature race victories. This comes after he equalled the record for most pole positions in a GP3/Formula 3 season last year on his way to the title.
Dunn has yet to reach the peak performances of his debut Formula 2 season but has accumulated five podiums with Rodin Motorsport so far.
At the Spa circuit, a driver favorite that continues to challenge youngsters – perhaps even more so than F1 drivers these days – these four drivers reaffirmed their status as favorites for the 2026 season.
This wasn't as evident in the sprint race, where the reverse grid typically leads to unexpected results, and this time was no exception. Joshua Dürksen prevailed, ending a 13-race podium drought. Martinius Stenshorne, finishing second, scored points for the first time since Monaco, and Ferrari driver Dino Beganovic returned to the podium, his previous top-three finish also being in the principality.
The feature race, however, despite several incidents that shortened the event, offered exciting wheel-to-wheel battles, and the favorites performed admirably.
Camara lost a position to front-row starter Tasanapol Intrapuvasak, and two laps later, he firmly defended a bold outside overtaking attempt by Tsolov at La Source, arguably pushing the Campos driver into the gravel.
Camara easily reclaimed the lead on lap five before pitting. After the race was red-flagged due to a heavy crash involving Laurens van Hoepen, the Brazilian made the most of his fresh tires, overtaking three cars in seconds to win comfortably.
Tsolov's race was complicated by an unsuccessful setup change, damage from the incident with Camara, and other issues.
"I had a good restart and then, of course, I tried to attack Rafa into Turn 1, where we had a slight contact," said the Bulgarian. "From that moment on, for some reason, I didn't have as good a pace. The car was also slightly damaged, so during the red flag, we had the opportunity to fix one of the airboxes and other things. The tires really wore out quickly, especially with the setup we had chosen. I don't think it was the right choice."
"The red flag helped us realize that one of the brakes wasn't working at all before that, so it was probably beneficial. Yes, there were a few things that went wrong, but I think we still made the most of it."
The championship leader adopted a pragmatic approach towards the end of the race: "Tas Intrapuvasak was faster on Sunday, so it all came down to accepting that fact and just losing as little time as possible" – and finished fifth under the checkered flag. Penalties for track limits for Dunn and his Campos teammate Noel Leon, which Tsolov knew were coming, elevated him to third place. This is a modest result compared to his feature race wins at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, but enough to extend his championship lead.
While the all-rookie podium included the unexpectedly impressive Intrapuvasak in second, current runner-up Mini discreetly but persistently recovered from a clash with Roman Bilinski on the first lap and a subsequent 5-second penalty to finish fifth – just behind the other Alpine driver, Dunn.
Of the four emerging title contenders, podium finishers Camara and Tsolov were present at the post-race press conference, where Motorsport asked them what impressed them most about each other.
"We are both very consistent," Camara said.
"It seems like every race weekend we are together at the front, even last year. Nikola has always been fast. He is certainly very good, and it's nice to be fighting for the championship this year," Rafa added.
"He also showed good mutual respect. Obviously, on track, you try to get the most for yourself, but I think respect off track is something that was a good surprise – I'm not surprised, but I'm also not unimpressed, it's something I appreciate."
Nikola Tsolov agreed with his rival's comment: "The same as what Rafa said. I think we know that what happens on track and off track are two separate things, so it's pretty cool to see. On the other hand, his qualifying performances this year are certainly quite impressive, as they were last year, so that's something that stands out."
Coincidentally, Camara and Tsolov are also the two Formula 2 drivers whose names are most frequently mentioned in the nascent Formula 1 "driver market." And it's not just rumors, as Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane openly described the Bulgarian as "next in line."
However, the young drivers, well-versed in media relations, predictably chose to avoid speculation.
"For me, that's obviously the ultimate goal and my dream, but right now, the better I do in Formula 2, the better position I'm in for the future," Tsolov said. "So I'm fully focused on Formula 2, it's obvious we're taking it round by round."
"I'm just focusing on what I can do right now, because if you don't do well in Formula 2, you most likely won't get where you want to be," Camara pointed out. "So I'm just focusing on this year."
Meanwhile, with 12 races remaining on the calendar, it will be fascinating to see how Camara's raw speed and Tsolov's driving prowess stack up against the experience of Mini and Dunn.
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