Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov prevailed in a dramatic Miami Sprint Race on May 2, 2026, fending off Laurens van Hoepen and Alexander Dunne in a drag race to the chequered flag to seal his second win of the season. The Bulgarian edged the TRIDENT and Rodin Motorsport drivers after a late flurry of moves that left the top three split by fractions at the line.
From pole, Tsolov launched cleanly and held the inside into Turn 1 to keep van Hoepen at bay. Oliver Goethe’s slow getaway dropped him from third to ninth by the end of the opening lap, while further back Colton Herta made early progress with a bold move on John Bennett at Turn 16 to climb to 13th.
Up front, Tsolov, van Hoepen, Joshua Duerksen and Nico Varrone broke clear of the pack by Lap 2, with the leader already needing to defend into Turn 17. As Lap 4 began, Dunne closed on Varrone for fifth while Duerksen piled pressure on van Hoepen for second.
Duerksen struck first, diving inside van Hoepen at Turn 17 after the TRIDENT driver slid out of the previous corner. The Paraguayan’s hold on P2 was short-lived, as van Hoepen reclaimed the place by Lap 6 when Duerksen ran deep at Turn 15.
A moment for Tsolov at the Turn 14 chicane on Lap 9 invited van Hoepen to attack, but the Campos driver repelled him again at Turn 17. The resistance ended at the close of Lap 13 when van Hoepen swept around the outside to take the lead, the front pair two seconds clear by the start of Lap 15 as Duerksen and Varrone disputed third with Dunne closing in.
Tsolov immediately countered, retaking the lead with a late move into Turn 17 at the end of Lap 15, while Dunne’s charge gathered pace as he dispatched Varrone for fourth. Van Hoepen then used DRS to pass Tsolov into Turn 11, only for the Campos rookie to reclaim top spot a few corners later as Duerksen and Dunne narrowed the gap behind.
On Lap 18, Dunne dived inside Duerksen at Turn 1 but ran long, allowing the Invicta Racing driver back through and costing both 2.6 seconds to the leaders. By Lap 19 a DRS train formed behind Duerksen, featuring Dunne, Varrone, Martinius Stenshorne, Gabriele Minì, Dino Beganovic and Noel León. Dunne finally made third his own with a move at Turn 17.
The closing laps were tense. Urged on the radio, van Hoepen repeatedly attacked at Turn 17, but Tsolov held firm, even as Dunne hauled himself within range. Starting the final lap just 0.2s behind, van Hoepen went around the outside into Turn 11 to momentarily take the lead.
Tsolov, though, had DRS for the back straight and sent his Campos car down the inside at Turn 17, with Dunne also alongside to turn it into a three-way sprint to the line. A superior exit delivered Tsolov the victory, with van Hoepen clinging on to second ahead of Dunne. Varrone grabbed fourth late on from Duerksen, while Stenshorne finished sixth, Minì seventh and Beganovic took the final point in eighth.
“The race was really tough, probably the toughest physically, everyone struggled quite a lot, but I was well prepared. It was very exciting because the DRS zones were very powerful, there was an opportunity to overtake every lap, and every straight. It was intense, was tough, but I am glad to come away with the win, just at the last corner. So I suggest everyone go watch the race and enjoy it.” said Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing).
In the championship picture, Tsolov moves to 35 points and extends his lead at the top of the Drivers’ standings, with van Hoepen up to second, nine points adrift. Rafael Câmara sits third on 18, ahead of Invicta Racing’s Joshua Duerksen on 15, with Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata fifth on 14.
Campos Racing lead the Teams’ standings on 43 points, followed by Invicta Racing on 33, TRIDENT on 26, MP Motorsport on 21 and Hitech rounding out the top five with 20. Next up is Sunday’s Feature Race, with lights out at 12:30 local time in Miami.
Source: fiaformula2.com