Spa Title Fight Emerges as F1 Juniors Shine in Belgium

With eight rounds completed of the 2026 Formula 2 championship, three drivers backed by Formula 1 junior programmes have emerged as clear title contenders, while a fourth remains a dark horse.

Red Bull Junior Team driver Nikola Tsolov leads the standings with 161 points, followed by Alpine Academy’s Gabriele Mini on 134, Ferrari Driver Academy’s Rafael Camara on 125, and Alpine’s Alex Dunne on 108.

Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov has been the most impressive, claiming six victories so far, three of them consecutive—a Formula 2 record matched only by Davide Valsecchi during the GP2 era.

Gabriele Mini has been the most consistent, securing only one victory but finishing in the top eight in 14 races for MP Motorsport. His sole non‑top‑eight finishes came at Monaco, where a slow pit stop dropped him, and at Spa‑Francorchamps, where a technical issue eliminated him from the sprint.

Rafael Camara, following in the footsteps of former Invicta Racing champions Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli, has taken four of the last five pole positions this season—matching a GP3/F3 record—and earned two feature‑race wins.

Alex Dunne, however, has yet to repeat the success of his rookie campaign, though he has already amassed five podiums with Rodin Motorsport.

Spa‑Francorchamps, a driver favourite that continues to challenge the field more than contemporary F1 circuits, saw these four drivers cement their status as title frontrunners for the 2026 season.

The sprint race offered the expected unpredictability of a reverse grid. Joshua Duerksen broke a 13‑race podium drought, Martinius Stenshorne scored his first points since Monaco, and Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic returned to the rostrum, his second appearance after Monaco.

The feature race, though interrupted by several incidents, delivered compelling wheel‑to‑wheel action, with the title contenders rising to the challenge.

Rafael Camara, who started alongside Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, fell behind initially but aggressively defended against Nikola Tsolov’s outside move at La Source two laps later, possibly forcing Tsolov’s Campos into the gravel.

Camara regained the lead on lap five before his pit stop. When the race was red‑flagged after Laurens van Hoepen’s heavy crash, the Brazilian capitalised on fresh tyres, slicing through three cars in seconds to secure a comfortable victory.

Rafael Camara, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Nikola Tsolov faced additional hardships, including an unsuccessful set‑up change and damage sustained in the clash with Camara, compounding his problems.

“I had a good restart and then obviously tried to attack Rafa into Turn 1, we had a little touch there,” the Bulgarian said. “From that moment onwards, for some reason I didn’t have so much pace anymore. Also the car was a little broken, so we got the chance during the red flag to fix the sidepod and stuff. [Tyres] really dropped off, especially with the set‑up we had today, it was not the right choice, I think.

“The red flag helped us to understand that one of the brakes was fully switched off before that, so it probably was beneficial. Yeah, there were a few things that went wrong, but I think we still maximised it.”

The championship leader took a wise approach to the end of the race – “Tas [Inthraphuvasak] was faster today, so it was all about accepting that fact and just losing as little time as possible” – and ended up fifth under the chequered flag. Track‑limit penalties for Dunne and his Campos team‑mate Noel Leon, which Tsolov knew were coming, boosted him up to third – a modest result compared to his feature‑race victories at Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, but enough to increase his championship lead.

Nikola Tsolov, Campos Racing

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

While the all‑rookie podium featured an unusually impressive Inthraphuvasak in second, current runner‑up Mini discreetly but steadfastly recovered from a lap‑one collision with Roman Bilinski and the consequent five‑second penalty to finish fifth – right behind fellow Alpine junior Dunne.

Of the four emerging title contenders, podium finishers Camara and Tsolov attended the post‑race press conference, and Motorsport asked them what impressed them the most about each other.

“We’ve been both very consistent,” Camara said. “It looks like every race weekend we are there, even speaking last year as well. Nikola has been always quick. For sure he’s a very good one and it’s nice to be this year fighting for championships.

“And he also created a good respect for both. Obviously in the track you’re trying to maximise for yourself, but I think the respect outside of the track has been something that it was a good surprise or something – not surprised but not impressed as well, but it was something that I appreciate.”

Tsolov concurred: “Similar comment as Rafa. I think we know that what happens on track and off track is two separate things, so it’s quite cool to see. On the other hand, for sure his qualifying performances this year have been quite impressive, also last year, so it’s probably one that is quite impressive.”

Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, ART Grand Prix, Rafael Camara, Invicta Racing, Nikola Tsolov, Campos Racing

Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images

As it happens, Camara and Tsolov also are the two F2 drivers whose names have been most prominent in F1’s nascent silly season – and it’s not just rumours, with Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane openly describing the Bulgarian as “next in line”.

However, the media‑savvy youngsters unsurprisingly preferred to steer clear of the speculation.

“For me obviously that’s the end goal and my dream, but at the moment, the better I do in F2 the better position I have for anything for the future,” Tsolov said. “So I’m full focus on F2, obviously I’m taking it round by round.”

“I’m just focusing on what I can do at the moment, because if you’re not doing a good job in F2, most likely you’re not going where you want to,” Camara pointed out. “So just focusing on this year.”

In the meantime, there are 12 more races on the calendar, and it will be fascinating to see how Camara’s sheer speed and Tsolov’s racecraft stand up to Mini’s and Dunne’s experience.

Alexander Dunne, Rodin Motorsport

Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Drop the mic!

Some errors are costlier than others, like that which lost Noel Leon crucial points in the Spa‑Francorchamps feature race.

The Mexican driver finished fourth on the road, but a track‑limit penalty dropped him to seventh before he was disqualified altogether. The reason was unusual: a Campos Racing team guest was using a radio headset fitted with a microphone.

Cost‑control reasons mean only a small, specific number of team members are registered as ‘operational personnel’; only they are allowed to use a microphone with their headset.

“A person declared as Non‑Operational Personnel was observed wearing a radio headset fitted with a microphone, and therefore had the appearance of potentially being able to transit, and therefore not a ‘listen only headset’,” the stewards’ report read.

“This is alleged to be a breach of Appendix 5 and Article 21.5 of the F2 Sporting Regulations. Under the applicable regulations, Non‑Operational Personnel may only be in possession of a listen‑only radio headset.

“During the hearing, the Team Manager explained that the person concerned, who was a team guest, had inadvertently taken the wrong type of headset.

“The Stewards noted that the team guest had been approached by a Scrutineer and informed that the headset was not permitted as it was fitted with a microphone. The Scrutineer was advised in response that the microphone was folded upwards. Despite having been specifically advised that the headset was not permitted, the team guest subsequently put the headset back on and continued to use it.”

Because the team guest was “associated exclusively with Car 5 and had no involvement with the Team’s other car”, only Leon was disqualified; Campos copped a hefty €20,000 fine and, more importantly, a suspended 25‑point deduction in the constructors’ championship.

The bottom line is, while mistakes happen, if a scrutineer tells you you’re doing something wrong, do heed their advice.

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