León topped the timesheets on the opening day in Barcelona, while the Mexican driver finished second on Thursday afternoon, just ahead of his teammate Tsolov, the Bulgarian member of the Red Bull Junior Team. The next time the cars hit the track will be at the season opener in Melbourne

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Campos Racing and its all-new driver pairing for the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season have completed three productive and promising days of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Nikola Tsolov, sporting the Red Bull colours on his F2 car, and Noel León, successfully fine-tuning his integration within the team, wrapped up an ambitious testing programme aimed at putting the final pieces in place before the curtain rises in Australia on the first weekend of March. The more than four hundred laps completed around the circuit near Granollers stand as clear evidence of the hard work carried out by the Campos Racing duo.

Tuesday morning was devoted to installation laps to ensure that all systems were functioning properly. It was not until shortly before midday that the Alzira-based squad’s drivers began to post their first representative lap times. At the end of the morning session, Tsolov had set a best time of 1m25.702s, compared to León’s 1m25.815s, placing them third and fourth respectively. In the afternoon, the Mexican driver, showcasing his rapid adaptation to the F2 machinery, made the most of a new set of hard tires to clock a 1m24.370s lap, securing the top spot on the timesheets. Tsolov recorded a 1m25.995s, which placed him ninth.

Wednesday was marked by remarkable parity, with as many as sixteen drivers finishing within the same second. For Campos Racing, the Bulgarian posted a 1m23.957s lap, while León set a 1m25.829s. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to longer race simulation runs, where both Tsolov and León underlined their competitiveness under those conditions as well. Tsolov stopped the clock at 1m29.876s, with his teammate recording a 1m30.818s.

The third and final day once again saw Campos Racing’s drivers in the spotlight. In the morning, both immediately went on the attack, with León initially leading the way ahead of Tsolov. Shortly after 10 a.m., the Red Bull Junior Team member managed to edge ahead of León’s benchmark. As the session approached the midday break, lap times continued to improve. Despite slipping a few positions in the closing stages, León and Tsolov ultimately finished second and third with times of 1m23.526s and 1m23.654s respectively. In the afternoon, with heavier fuel loads and higher track temperatures leading to slower laps, León secured second place with a 1m26.308s. Tsolov, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on the top ten with a 1m29.515s.

Testing is now complete. Only a few days remain before the new campaign gets underway at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. There, on Australian soil, it will be the real thing. The battle for the title is about to begin.