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Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov is set to take a significant step towards Formula 1 when he makes his first appearance in F1 machinery during a Testing of Previous Car (TPC) programme with Racing Bulls later this month.
The Bulgarian driver will drive the Faenza-based team’s 2025 VCARB02 at Imola on 27 August. The run represents an important assessment of a driver whose reputation has grown rapidly through the junior categories and whose current form has strengthened the case for a future promotion.
Tsolov finished as the 2025 F3 vice-champion and is now leading the drivers’ championship by 20 points during his first full-time F2 campaign with the Red Bull-liveried Campos outfit. That combination of results and Red Bull backing has placed him firmly on the radar as a potential future Racing Bulls driver.
The Imola test will take place alongside Racing Bulls’ 2026 race drivers, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. The pair are scheduled to complete the team’s final 200-kilometre-capped filming day in the VCARB03.
The latest development also adds weight to Racing Bulls’ efforts to prepare Tsolov for a potential Friday free-practice appearance. Team CEO Peter Bayer previously explained that the driver still needs additional running to secure the licence required to participate in an FP1 session.
“We’re currently considering having him do [a] 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’s progress has already prompted speculation that he could be fast-tracked towards a Racing Bulls race seat in 2027. Team boss Alan Permane has not confirmed that possibility, but said the Bulgarian is “next in line” to replace either Lawson or Lindblad.
The strength of the current line-up may have delayed any decision, while the wider situation surrounding Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future remains relevant to the team’s planning. Racing Bulls has also publicly backed the freedom of Lawson and Lindblad to race, as reported in Permane backs Lawson and Lindblad freedom to race after Hungarian GP tension.
Tsolov, however, is confident that he would be ready if the opportunity arrives.
“You always want to believe you’re the best at what you do, and I’m trying to show that this year,” he told Sky F1. “I know I will work my hardest to get it, and yeah, feeling confident in general.”
For now, his immediate priority is extending his F2 championship lead at Monza. Imola, though, will offer the clearest indication yet of how close this Red Bull prospect is to Formula 1 machinery.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.