Nikola Tsolov's Budapest Weekend Debrief

It was not the weekend Championship leader Nikola Tsolov had been hoping for but leaving Budapest, the Campos Racing driver reflected on what had been a stellar opening half of the season.

The Bulgarian talks us through his mentality after suffering more than a few setbacks around the Hungaroring, what comes next and why results won't change his approach going into Monza.

A TOUGH WEEKEND

"It's been a while since we've had a bad one, but we knew this moment would come at some point. Unfortunately, too much risk on Saturday really cost us a few points this weekend, and I think with the penalty we got for today, it really set us back.

"We could have easily scored 15-16 points, but we came away only with six. It was tough to swallow yesterday, but in the end, I'm glad it happened in a moment like this, because it's just part of the learning process. I had the buffer, let's say, to make that mistake, learn and improve for the rest of the year. It can only motivate me.

"I'm also glad that we had a decent comeback today after the fall down yesterday. In a sense, because we've done all the hard work coming in now, there is never going to be a good time to have a bad weekend, but again, it's part of the learning process.

"For me, it's about how quickly you're able to get back on your feet and how quickly you're able to turn the negative into a positive. That was the tough part yesterday.

"As long as you do the tough job overnight and, in the morning, then the race is the easy part, because that's something you should already have automatically in you."

STRATEGY CALLS

"The odds were against us a little bit today in terms of strategy and stuff. We didn't really get the opportunity to make up so much, so we had to do most of it on track.

"But, overtaking here is almost impossible. To overtake five cars, after being involved in an incident in lap one, where I lost three places, I think it's the max we could do. The pace was good as well, so I'm honestly feeling quite positive."

"The car didn't feel too bad after the incident, so I think it was okay. Even if I did have damage, it was not slowing me down, for sure. I think we knew that the Soft was going to stay in for quite a bit. When the temperatures are quite hot, usually the softer compounds behave better, compared to the harder ones.

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"Just because you slide less and you overheat them less. I think that's the main reason, and then you get graining when it's cold.

"Today, on a hot day, we knew that the Soft would last longer, maybe that was a mistake. We stayed out a little bit too long on the Medium.

"We couldn't really box early to undercut the cars in front on the same strategy because we wanted to wait and see if there was a Safety Car, because I would have come out in P2.

"We took that gamble, but obviously luck was not fully with us today. But that's okay. We save it for the better moments."

UP NEXT- SUMMER BREAK

"It's been a great season so far. It's crazy that we've been through nine rounds already. It didn't feel long because we were back-to-back quite a lot of times. But, I look back on it with so many positives.

"A lot learned, so many good and bad moments, emotions both ways. 20 points ahead still, so I can really disconnect now a little bit and take some time off. I think having that break to really acknowledge everything that happened, it's going to be beneficial for me. I think I can come back stronger than ever, and this is what I'll be aiming for."