Nikola Tsolov spoke to Motorsport Week about his record-breaking Formula 3 season, his early debut in the final rounds of the 2025 Formula 2 campaign, and how he handles the pressure of being a Red Bull junior driver.
Tsolov’s past year has brought him back into the spotlight and under scrutiny for a possible future in F1. He broke the F3 record for most wins, making him the most successful driver in the series’ history in that regard. He closed out the season as the Vice-Champion and, despite missing out on the title, his performance secured him a drive in the final two rounds of the 2025 F2 season, as well as a 2026 drive.
The Bulgarian driver will be continuing with Campos into his F2 season, both for the remainder of 2025 and for a full season in 2026. Importantly, he’ll also continue with the support from Red Bull, whom he joined in 2025.
He sat down with Motorsport Week to discuss the opportunities ahead, as well as reflecting on his season just gone.
He confessed that it had always been his plan to race in F2 for the final round of the 2025 season, rather than just struggling to find a place on the grid; however, with Pepe Marti taking an opportunity to race full-time in Formula E, a seat opened up with Campos.
“Super exciting opportunity to be honest,” Tsolov said. “It came very last minute. We were trying to find a seat for me to do the last two or three rounds, just to get a better prep for next year.”
“Thankfully, we managed to find a way, and yeah, I was quite lucky with the opportunity. So prep has been going on physically a lot. Obviously, stepping into F2 is going to be a lot more physical, a lot more weekends to travel. Difficult tracks such as Qatar now, and obviously Jeddah next year. So yeah, mostly focusing on that and then have also done some testing, which is positive and yeah, feeling prepared to be honest.”
Despite the preparation being full-on for Qatar, a new track for the Bulgarian driver, he felt he’d had plenty of time to look back on the past year and evaluate his goals for the next season with Red Bull.
“I was able to look back into the season, analyse everything. I also had some talks with Red Bull about how we’re going to approach next year, targets and goals. So I feel confident because I’ve covered most of the stuff I had to work on. Obviously, I just need to show it on track now. I’m ready for the step. I think after three years of F3, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while. I couldn’t be more ready for it.”
Doing a third year in any junior category can be a make-or-break moment. With so many talented drivers climbing the ranks, instant performance is often valued over experience. Tsolov has seen how the longer you spend in a series, the higher the expectations for performance become.
“It didn’t look so possible after the second season and the first and second season, but I always knew I had what it takes and I had the pace. It’s just been wrong place, wrong time. Everything was just really difficult for me.” He continued on to say the budget has affected his results, “Prep hasn’t been going really well due to the budget. I think winning three races last year, although two of them were sprints, helped me find the budget for this year, where I could manage to prepare a little bit better.
“Then the same goes for next year, just because the result of this year has been positive. Also, the help we get from F3 is going into F2 with a budget. So, you know, 250,000 for me goes into my season next year, which is also a big plus for me. I think I should be looking for a strong start, considering prep has been going well.”
Red Bull and Campos
Tsolov is no stranger to the support of F1 teams. From 2022 to 2024, the Bulgarian driver was a member of the Alpine academy, receiving support from their F1 team and resources. However, in 2025, he traded the pink and blue of Alpine for the navy of the Red Bull junior team.
This support has been ‘essential’ to the Bulgarian’s campaign, beyond just on-track. He divuldged that the team also work with him to help him understand all aspects of being a racing driver. Including from an engineering aspect – working on car setups.
“I think it has been an essential part. I’ve managed to learn a lot of stuff about racing, a lot of off-track stuff, you know, how to deal with car setup, engineering. Communication is really important to work on and improve the car. Which I think has been a key for this year with the new car in F3. To make sure we have a good base to start with. Red Bull has been instrumental with that.”
Looking at his first year with the team’s support, he hoped he’d impressed them. He said. “I think they were happy with me. Obviously, there were challenging moments, especially in the beginning. I think we’re looking optimistic about next year, and we have big expectations, probably.”
Similarly, with his continued support from Red Bull into his F2 season, he will be racing with Campos. Driving with Campos is a comfortable home for Tsolov, taking part in Spanish F4 with the team in 2022 before returning to them for his final season of F3 and his future F2 campaign.
Tsolov spoke positively about returning to the Spanish team, believing his best results have come with it.
“We have a good history, obviously, in F4 and now in F3. I think all my good seasons have been with them. They’re more like a family to me rather than a team. So I’m super happy and excited to race with them again. I think it should be a well-structured year.”
It’s not an easy jump for Tsolov. He’s spent three years in the same category, and although F3 introduced new cars for the 2025 season. The schedule and workload have stayed the same. Presenting him with a larger challenge coming into the following year.
“Mentally, it gets tougher just because you have more weekends. You’re only one step away from the big goal, which makes it tough because you have to perform. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to be in F2.” Tsolov divuldged.
He stressed the importance of hitting the ground running in a series that serves as the testing ground for F1’s future.
“If you make a good first year, you make a good impression, which is a really big key. But I think the pressure is more about management because I had it this year as well. It was the third season, so I really had to perform. I had no other choice. So let’s say I’ve been kind of already used to working under pressure and I’m looking forward to having a go at it again.”
As part of his journey through the feeder series ladder, Tsolov has the unique responsibility of being the first Bulgarian driver to stand on the podium and win in F3. Being a trailblazer for your country comes with more eyes on you and added pressure with the responsibility that comes with it.
However, the Bulgarian driver admitted he feels more pride than pressure.
“I think it’s more pride. I’m kind of getting motivated with that, and I wouldn’t say it’s really pressure. I feel the support from there, both morally and, obviously, physically. Sometimes there are a lot of fans coming over the weekend. So, rather than pressure, it’s just motivation to keep going.”
How Tsolov has tackled the highs and lows of motorsport
Motorsport is a rollercoaster with drivers constantly facing the highest possible highs in the form of championships and wins, but also the lows in challenging moments on and off track.
Looking towards some of the higher moments in his career, Tsolov told Motorsport Week about his highlights so far. Including the moment that secured his drive for this season.
“There are a few. I would say starting with F4, for sure, winning the title. Obviously, I expected to fight for it, but it was quite a dominant win, which felt even better. Then last year, Hungary, I think, was a really good race for me because I had to prove myself. I had to really deliver, and that was a deciding race for me to race this year.
“Then obviously going into this year was Monaco and Spielberg in Austria. I think obviously the win theoretically was taken away from me, but I still believe I’m the winner of that race. Just as a whole weekend was super complete, I didn’t make one mistake the entire weekend, which is quite difficult to do, especially in F3 with all the stuff going on.”
With so much support from Red Bull, Campos and voices around Tsolov, he’s received a lot of advice in his career. When asked which stands out most to him, he said it depends on the moment.
“Every time is a different one you pick or a different one that actually works for you,” he said, “For me this year, with the pressure management has been a big one.
“It was, you know, in the end for me to think, shit, I have pressure, I have to do this, I have to prepare well, I have to deliver the results, most importantly. But the moment I started thinking a little bit as a third person outside the picture and realised that everyone has pressure, everyone has expectations, and everyone’s career can go wrong at any time. I’m not the only one in this. That calms me down, the fact that it’s for everyone, everyone has pressure.
That ability to put his racing in perspective has helped him ease the pressure. Tsolov went on to say, “So then you consider yourself more normal. Normally, you’re very centred in yourself with racing, but that has helped me a lot throughout this year for sure.”
As F2 and F3 have grown in popularity in recent years, so has the media attention on the drivers. Beyond just the eyes of sponsors and F1 teams come the eyes of fans who aren’t always complimentary.
Tsolov has faced criticism in the last two years, not just for racing-related actions, but also for his social media presence. That noise can be loud, but he admitted it’s something every driver has to deal with.
“People from outside cannot really see what’s going on inside, and they make hateful comments towards drivers. But in the end of the day, I think everyone gives their best.”
In fact, the Red Bull junior went so far as to defend drivers who face criticism simply for being ‘not as good’. “No one goes there to go around and do nothing. So even if someone is worse or better or whatever, I don’t think there should be any hate because imagine you’re giving your best, you’re not as good,” he said. “Someone starts telling you you’re really bad. I think that would really hurt.”
In that vein, the Bulgarian confessed that for his own sake, he avoids reading the comments about himself.
“I try to avoid reading too much of social media comments, etc. So I went through stuff like that already in 2024, where a lot of people were trying to attack me for stuff happening on track and off track as well, to be honest. But I think that moment made me stronger. It wasn’t too hard to deal with personally because I just distanced myself from the phone, and then it’s all gone.
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