Nikola Tsolov is strongly linked to an F1 seat at Racing Bulls in 2027, but according to CEO Peter Bayer, no decision has been made yet. The Bulgarian is convincingly leading the Formula 2 championship, but currently does not have the required super license to make the step to the top class. Racing Bulls wants to change that in the coming months.
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According to Bayer, Tsolov will get more F1 mileage in the autumn. “We are currently considering letting him (Tsolov, ed.) do a TPC test, because he needs a license to participate in the free practice sessions,” said the Austrian in an interview with Sky Sports. “He still lacks a few kilometers, but that should change later this year.”
So far, Tsolov has only been active during demonstration runs. He has already made the streets of his hometown Sofia unsafe with the Red Bull RB7 and also appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Meanwhile, in Formula 2, he is stringing together successes; the young Bulgarian won six of the first seven races. Between 2022 and 2024, he was part of the Alpine development program, but last year he switched to Red Bull. Towards the end of the F2 season, he took over the Campos seat from Pepe Martí. This year he is completing his first full season.
‘Lawson and Lindblad just as good’
Despite his strong performances, Bayer considers the speculations about a promotion to Racing Bulls premature. “Those are just rumors,” he emphasized. “He is doing fantastic and is an enormous talent that we are of course keeping an eye on. But we have only raced seven times and Liam (Lawson, ed.) and Arvid (Lindblad, ed.) are doing just as well. So it is not yet an issue at this moment.”
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The rumors arose after Lawson’s turbulent F1 season last year. The New Zealander started alongside Max Verstappen but returned to Racing Bulls after only two races. He has since recovered well there: he scored points in seven of the nine Grands Prix and consistently stayed ahead of teammate Arvid Lindblad. Nevertheless, his future remains a subject of speculation due to Tsolov’s rise.
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it yet,” Lawson responded to the press at Silverstone. “Of course, the summer break is a period when a lot of thinking about the future happens, but we still have a few races to go. At this moment, I’m just focusing on what we are doing well. Lately, things have clearly been going very well and it would be nice to achieve some good results before the summer break. I haven’t been in Formula 1 for very long, but I have enough experience to know how certain things develop,” he concluded meaningfully.
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