Formula 2 title leader Tsolov on his F1 dream

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While the action in 2026 goes on hiatus over the summer break, talk about next season continues and will only gather pace from here. One name that keeps cropping up is Nikola Tsolov, the Red Bull Junior Team driver and current Formula 2 championship leader. The Bulgarian has enjoyed arguably his finest season in single seaters to date. He's taken six race wins including a sweep of the Silverstone round, setting a new record for consecutive wins in the championship with three in the process. It has put him in the conversation for a call up to the pinnacle of motorsport and a potential seat on the grid for 2027. As rumours continue to swirl though, he is taking it all in his stride. "Obviously I try to distance myself from it, isolate a little bit," Tsolov says of the F1 talk. "The noise can really get you into trouble. But honestly I've been handling it pretty well, because it's not something I necessarily didn't expect to happen. "I didn't expect it to be such a big boom, but it is what it is, and I'll just keep doing what I've been doing until now. Obviously the season we are achieving right now is great and I think there is more to come as well, I think there is more we can show." Tsolov has previously been part of another F1 academy, but a switch to join the Red Bull ranks ahead of the 2025 campaign has coincided with a leap in performance and consistency. He fought another F1-linked driver in Rafael Camara for the F3 title that year, ultimately falling just short yet demonstrating impressive speed nonetheless. But it is with Red Bull's guidance that Tsolov feels he's hit his best form, and he believes their involvement has been fundamental to the success he's enjoyed in 2026. "They've got such a great history of bringing young drivers through these categories. It's been key for me to move to the Red Bull Junior Team," he says. "They have been supporting me in every sense, helping me develop outside of the track, on track, all the ways you handle different situations, which has been super important. "I'd say you can really see the transition since the beginning of last year that I've managed to develop a lot more, so I'm really grateful to be part of it, really thankful to them. I think they are quite happy with me as well and it's just a good dynamic, so yeah it's going great. I think I'm in the best place in all honesty." Nicknamed 'The Bulgarian Lion', Tsolov showed his tenacity around Silverstone to fight back and win both the Sprint and Feature Races in style with Campos Racing, having qualified in fifth. Afterwards, eponymous Team Principal Adrian Campos was steadfast in his assessment that Tsolov is ready for F1, and would be fully deserving of a seat on the grid next year. It's something Tsolov says means a great deal, with Campos playing a big part in his journey up the ranks to this day, having claimed Spanish F4 glory with the team back in 2022. "It does mean a lot. I wouldn't expect him to say that, but we're a family like I've always been saying," Tsolov explains. "I'm grateful to be able to work with them as well because for me, that's been a big key in my career as well and as much as he says that, I do feel like they've been making the difference for me as well. "Not only by setting up the car, but also creating the right environment inside the team, so I do feel like this is something that's not looked at enough. "There are teams that work very well around the car, but the environment is not as good, so for me putting your driver in the right mindset can lead to what we're achieving this year." Tsolov joined F3 at just 16 years old, making him one of the youngest drivers in the championship's history. Three years of Formula 3 before a promotion to F2 means he is deceptively experienced in the junior categories. Still just 19 years old, Tsolov says he feels people still overestimate his seniority in comparison to some of his rivals. "I've always felt young," he explains. "It's quite funny because I'm the second youngest in the F2 grid right now, so obviously what's so good is I've been able to gain a lot of experience while I was still young, so I'm in a good position. "I'm young and experienced and doing well, so I think that's a big key and it can help me progress. "I think people don't really realise looking at me or other drivers what the age difference is, because it's within two or three years, so obviously it all looks the same at this point of our lives, but it's good to know that I have two more years until I reach probably the average of the grid." Tsolov's F2 call-up came at the back end of the 2025 campaign, as he completed the final two rounds of the year at Campos alongside Racing Bulls-bound Arvid Lindblad. It didn't take long for him to make an impact either, securing a podium in just his third race with P3 in the Yas Marina Sprint. The two weekends he spent as team mate to Lindblad were pivotal to his fast start in F2. He says they both worked well together, and that he was able to learn a lot from a driver already signed to F1 for 2026. "For sure jumping in next to Arvid for the last two rounds last year was key for me, because he was working very closely with F1 at that point and he was obviously already confirmed by Abu Dhabi. "He just had that work ethic of an F1 driver that helped me understand better what I need, what I should do and prepare myself better than what I would have if he wasn't alongside me. "So for sure I did learn from him, and I'm quite thankful that I was able to drive those two rounds with him." Tsolov remains the driver to beat in F2, 20 points clear at the top of the standings and with double the number of wins of anyone else. He says his mentality will remain the same as the noise continues to build around him, and that ultimately it will come down to performance. After that, it's up to Red Bull. The Bulgarian adds that they continue to support him, but that nothing concrete has been decided just yet. "They're obviously really happy with me, but there's nothing that has been talked about, nothing clear," he explains. "It's just keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great, but there's not much more than that to be honest. "Obviously Red Bull themselves have prepared me for all this, what's happening now and because of their help I'm able to achieve those results as well. "But we haven't reached the point where there's anything more than that, we're just focusing on F2 right now. "It means a lot to me, obviously it means that people are appreciating and they believe in what I do. I believe in myself as well and I really do feel like this year has been great and I should deserve a chance. "But things are never certain in this sport, so it's all about taking every opportunity I get from now on and focus on F2, because that's the only thing that can really help me progress up the ladder." Download the Official F1 AppYour ultimate companion into
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