With a stellar performance at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain, Bulgaria’s Nikola Tsolov claimed his first victory of the 2025 Formula 3 season by winning the sprint race of the second round.

Starting from fifth on the grid, Tsolov quickly moved up the field, overtaking Alessandro Giusti early on. By the third lap, he had also passed Martinius Stenshorne, shortly before the safety car made its first appearance. After the restart at the end of lap six, the Campos Racing driver continued his charge, passing pole-sitter Joshua Dufek to move into second place behind debutant Freddie Slater.

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— Formula 3 (@Formula3) April 12, 2025

Tsolov launched several attacks on Slater before successfully taking the lead at the beginning of lap 11. Once out in front, he started building a gap, but a second safety car on lap 15 neutralized his lead. Slater managed to stay close after the restart at the end of lap 17, but Tsolov held off the challenge to take the win.

Freddie Slater secured second place, while Tuuka Taponen of Finland completed the podium after showing strong pace and putting pressure on Slater prior to the final safety car. Callum Voisin and Martinius Stenshorne finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The remaining points went to Tim Tramnitz, Alessandro Giusti, Christian Ho, Charlie Wurz, and Noah Strømsted.

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— Ju@n???? (@juanborrego98) April 12, 2025

Following this victory, Nikola Tsolov moved up to seventh in the overall Formula 3 standings with 13 points, closing the gap to championship leader Rafael Camara to 17 points. Camara had a disappointing race, finishing 12th after stalling at the start. Strømsted, who took tenth place in the sprint, now sits second in the standings, trailing Camara by 10 points.