Media Zone

Feature

WHAT WE LEARNED: The key takeaways from Round 1 in Melbourne

10 March 2026

Round 1 of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season in Melbourne is over with two incredible races kickstarting what looks set to be a competitive year of action.

Joshua Duerksen and Nikola Tsolov were the two winners at Albert Park, and while they made headlines, there were a few other storylines of note from the opening weekend…

TSOLOV AND CAMPOS REIGN IN MELBOURNE

Campos Racing made it two consecutive Melbourne Feature Race wins in a row, with Tsolov following on from Isack Hadjar’s win in 2024 – with the 2025 Feature event cancelled.

The Bulgarian driver came into Sunday’s race a little frustrated, feeling that if things had gone his way on Friday, he should have been on pole, and with contact damage affecting his Sprint.

But a great start from fifth in the Feature put him up to third, before he took over the lead after the two Rodin Motorsport cars collided.

From that point, Tsolov showed great pace and race management, dealing with Safety Car restarts, making a key overtake on Nico Varrone, and keeping the gap to Rafael Câmara.

Tsolov won the Feature Race with a dominant performance in Melbourne

Tsolov went on to win in fairly dominant style, completing a strong weekend for Campos that started with Noel León finishing second in the Sprint Race the day before.

If Campos are to go for both Championships in 2026, their performance in Melbourne is certainly a good first step towards that.

INVICTA PICK UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF

If their rivals had hoped they would take a step back in 2026, two-time reigning Teams’ and Drivers’ Champions Invicta Racing put any of those wishes to bed with a strong Round 1.

It started with both Joshua Duerksen and Rafael Câmara fighting for pole, before the former won the Melbourne Sprint for the second consecutive season.

Câmara, in his first race weekend in Formula 2, showed good pace and potential, pushing Tsolov all the way on Sunday for the victory.

In the end, the Brazilian settled for second place, achieving a first podium in F2. It’s a nice start for both drivers as Invicta seek to become the first team to win three Teams’ titles.

Câmara (L) and Van Hoepen (R) achieved their first F2 podiums in the Melbourne Feature Race

TRIDENT BACK ON FORM

TRIDENT had a tough 2025 season, achieving just two points and finishing at the bottom of the Teams’ Standings. But the Italian team worked really hard over the winter and their form in pre-season testing looked much improved.

That was confirmed in Melbourne, where Laurens van Hoepen narrowly missed out on a place in the top 10 in Qualifying by just 0.023s.

But they felt the pace was there for more and Van Hoepen showed that on Sunday, running in P5 early on, and matching the times of the front runners throughout the race.

The Dutch driver then made a move past Varrone to get to third, before pulling out a nice gap on Oliver Goethe, who he had been battling with all race long.

It gave van Hoepen his maiden F2 podium, and TRIDENT their first since Baku in 2024. This performance and result will serve as a huge boost in confidence for them moving forward.

Beganovic took pole in stunning style in Melbourne for DAMS

MORE TO COME FROM A FEW

While Campos and Invicta were the two notable standouts from Round 1, a few teams and drivers will be optimistic about their chances moving forward.

Firstly, Gabriele Minì and MP Motorsport will feel they left points on the table, with issues in Qualifying affecting their starting positions for both races, especially after the Italian was quickest in Free Practice.

They showed great pace, with Minì gaining a combined 28 places across two races after starting at the back of the grid. Had he started higher, he would have been a contender in both races.

Another is Dino Beganovic and DAMS Lucas Oil. An outstanding lap from the Swede put him on pole, and while a slow start dropped him down the order, he was back running in a net P2 after the pitstops.

Rodin take positives from both of their drivers being at the front of the field

Unfortunately, a mechanical issue took him out of the Feature Race when he had started to reel in Tsolov for the lead. While disappointed, Beganovic will know the pace is there to contend moving forward.

Lastly, arguably no team had two drivers performing at a higher level than Rodin Motorsport, with Martinius Stenshorne in P2 and Alexander Dunne third in Qualifying.

Both drivers were constantly around each other in the Sprint, with Dunne inheriting P3 after Stenshorne’s five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

They were then running one and two in the Feature until a collision knocked both of them out of the race. Rodin may be disappointed with the outcome, but they will take comfort from knowing that they have two fairly-matched drivers contending at the front.