Nikola Tsolov moves closer to Formula 1 with first Racing Bulls test

Formula 2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov will carry out his first Formula 1 test later this month, climbing behind the wheel of a Racing Bulls car.

The Bulgarian driver has lit up the Formula 2 championship this season, and now will get a chance to impress in a test of the 2025 Racing Bulls VCARB02.

Nikola Tsolov moves closer to Formula 1 with Racing Bulls test

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Tsolov will carry out a test day with Racing Bulls at Imola later this month, coinciding with the team’s final filming day of the year.

While Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad carry out the filming day on August 27th behind the wheel of the 2026 VCARB03, Tsolov will be given a VCARB02 to gain some valuable mileage in.

The two race drivers will be capped at a total of 200 kilometres, cumulative, under the rules for a promotional event, while Tsolov can drive under the provisions for Testing of a Previous Car [TPC].

The updated regulations for TPC outings this year permit Tsolov to drive last year’s car, given that it’s from the previous generation’s ruleset, which up until last year forced teams to run drivers in machinery at least two years old.

In July, Racing Bulls’ CEO Peter Bayer revealed the team’s intent to give Tsolov the chance to drive an F1 car in a test, with his previous appearances coming only in showruns: he drove the Red Bull RB7 in Sofia in June 2025, and the RB8 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this summer.

“We’re currently considering having him do TPC test, because he needs a licence to drive in Friday practice sessions,” Bayer told Sky F1.

“He’s still lacking a few kilometres. And we’re planning that for the autumn.”

Tsolov does not currently have the FIA Super Licence required to race in Formula 1. He sits on 25 points for the current three-year period, all earned in 2025 as he finished as runner-up in the Formula 3 championship.

A top-five finish in Formula 2 will earn him the required points to be granted one, and potentially also allow the Bulgarian to feature on the driver market for next season.

Earlier this summer, some media outlets suggested that Tsolov has already been given assurances of a seat at Racing Bulls for next season, although PlanetF1.com understands these claims to be premature – discussions about the Racing Bulls driver line-up for next season are yet to be held, let alone finalised.

“Those are just rumours,” Bayer said of the speculation at the time.

“He’s doing a brilliant job and is a huge talent whom we naturally have on our radar. But we’ve only had seven races so far, and Liam and Arvid are doing just as brilliant a job. So it’s not even on the cards at the moment.”

Speaking at the Belgian Grand Prix, team boss Alan Permane addressed the promise of Tsolov, saying, “He’s doing incredibly well.

“He’s now leading the [F2] championship, I think, after his great weekend at Silverstone. So, to say he’s on the radar would be a little bit of an understatement. He’s next in line, I think it’s fair to say.

“When that’ll be, I don’t know, honestly. It’s definitely not untrue to say we’re not thinking about it at the moment. He’s there, he’s doing his job, we’re doing our job, and we’ll make a call on whether, if and when, he comes up to Racing Bulls later this year, I’m sure.”

However, there’s no obvious opening for Tsolov to jump up to Racing Bulls next season, with both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad performing at a very high level this year.

Lawson, in only his second full season in F1, occupies ninth in the championship; realistically, the highest position any driver outside of the four front-running teams can hope to achieve. Lindblad is 11th, and has had a very strong rookie season in which he has been able to keep Lawson very honest.

With Isack Hadjar looking very likely to be kept on at Red Bull, alongside Max Verstappen, the door for a Tsolov promotion thus appears only ajar, rather than open, and may be contingent on the drastic scenario of Verstappen deciding to leave Red Bull for pastures new.

Lawson explained, going into the summer break, that he expected discussions regarding his future to be held in and around this time period, meaning clarity on his future could be reached quite soon.

Tsolov’s outing will give Racing Bulls some first-hand insight into his comfort behind the wheel of a recent Formula 1 car, at a time when decisions are, potentially, about to be made about the driver line-up for next season and the two teams appear to have more drivers than seats available.

Tsolov recently confirmed that he hasn’t been told anything about his immediate future, telling Sky F1 that he’s “obviously confident” about being able to hit the ground running in Formula 1, should he get an opportunity.

“You always want to believe you’re the best at what you do, and I’m trying to show that this year,” he said.

“And knowing I’ve done what I’ve done so far, I think I should be able to adapt well if I’m given the opportunity. I know I will work my hardest to get it, and yeah, feeling confident in general.”

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