The Norwegian rookie secured in Montreal the first victory of his career in Formula 2 at the end of a completely chaotic main race, marked by a succession of accidents and retirements.
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The Rodin Motorsport driver won under safety car conditions ahead of his teammate Alexander Dunne, thus offering a one-two finish to the British team.
Third at the finish, Gabriele Mini (MP Motorsport) also had an excellent result by leaving Canada as the championship leader.
Van Hoepen into the wall
This Montreal round will remain as one of the most eventful of recent seasons in Formula 2. Between the lead changes, strategies disrupted by rain, and multiple incidents, the standings constantly evolved throughout the laps.
Fifth at the checkered flag, Nikola Tsolov (Campos) can almost consider himself lucky after the success of his teammate Noel Léon the day before in the Sprint. The Bulgarian driver went through several races in one: first fighting for victory against poleman Laurens Van Hoepen (Trident), then forced to come back after the stops, before finally taking advantage of the many accidents to limit the damage.
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The major turning point of the event came when Van Hoepen, then leader, made a mistake under the first drops of rain. The Trident driver violently hit the famous Wall of Champions, causing the safety car to intervene. The entire pack then rushed into the pit lane, completely disrupting the hierarchy. Tsolov lost the race lead, while Josh Dürksen saw his strategy compromised after being blocked behind his teammate Rafael Câmara during the stops.
Mini consolidates his leadership
For a few laps, the race even offered a completely unexpected classification with Roman Bilinski in front ahead of… Colton Herta. But the chaos was just beginning. Retirements then multiplied: Bennett stalled in the pits, Villagomez hit by Câmara, not to mention accidents involving Oliver Goethe, Ritomo Miyata, and Enzo Fittipaldi. Dino Beganovic was also eliminated by an engine problem.
Added to this were several individual errors, notably a spectacular spin by the F3 champion during a desperate overtaking attempt. In the end, Mini therefore retains the championship lead ahead of Tsolov, while Câmara now trails by more than ten points.
The next round, held from June 4 to 7 on the streets of Monaco, already promises a new dose of tension. But after such a Canadian weekend, the F2 paddock might also have to learn to find a bit of calm.
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