Nikola Tsolov drove a Racing Bulls Formula 1 car this week under the Testing of Previous Cars regulations, his first laps in current-generation machinery. The 19-year-old Bulgarian leads the Formula 2 championship and now holds test mileage in the Red Bull pipeline, a sequence that typically precedes contract negotiations for 2026 or reserve duty in 2025.
The TPC programme allows teams unlimited running in cars at least two seasons old, provided the driver holds a superlicense or is within 40 points of eligibility. Tsolov sits at approximately 28 superlicense points with ten F2 rounds remaining, meaning a top-four championship finish this year delivers the 40 threshold. Racing Bulls used the session to evaluate pedal pressure, steering feedback, and race-start procedure, the same checklist run with Isack Hadjar in March and Liam Lawson in September 2023. Both drivers now hold reserve contracts; Lawson ran five grands prix last season as injury cover.
The timing matters because Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls must decide by September whether to promote Lawson, extend Yuki Tsunoda, or slot a third candidate into the 2026 grid. Lawson's five-race cameo last year produced 2 points and impressed team principal Christian Horner enough to keep him on salary through 2024, but no seat opened. Tsunoda holds a contract through 2025 with performance clauses that activate if he finishes inside the top ten in the drivers' championship, unlikely given his current P14 standing. Hadjar, meanwhile, leads the F2 rookie classification and will complete his own TPC running in June, creating a three-way decision matrix Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko will collapse by autumn.
Tsolov's profile differs slightly: he ran a partial F3 season in 2023 before moving to F2 with Campos Racing this year, a faster promotion than the typical two-year F3 cycle. His F2 pole in Bahrain came on a 1:38.4, within 1.2 seconds of the F1 pole time on the same weekend, a delta that reflects aero load more than raw pace. Red Bull's interest likely hinges on whether he converts the points lead into the title; the last five F2 champions reached F1 within eighteen months, three of them with Red Bull-affiliated seats.
The commercial angle is simpler: Red Bull operates two teams and four seats, with Zhou Guanyu's Sauber deal expiring in 2025, Esteban Ocon's Alpine contract status unclear, and Williams running Logan Sargeant on a year-to-year basis. If Racing Bulls promotes Lawson to replace Sergio Pérez or Daniel Ricciardo, a seat opens. If not, the junior queue lengthens and someone—most likely Hadjar or Tsolov—accepts a reserve role or exits the programme entirely. Red Bull has released eleven junior drivers since 2020, most recently Jüri Vips after a contract breach unrelated to performance.
Tsolov's test also signals Racing Bulls' willingness to bypass the traditional F3-F2-F1 ladder if the data supports it. The team ran Lawson directly from Super Formula in 2023 and has discussed shortening development timelines to match McLaren's approach with Oscar Piastri and Mercedes' with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, both of whom skipped or compressed junior years. The TPC mileage gives Racing Bulls twelve months of steering input, brake modulation data, and physiological benchmarks, enough to model race pace without burning Friday practice sessions that cost $150,000 in tyre allocation and track fees per outing.
Watch Tsolov's finishing position in the next three F2 rounds—Monaco, Barcelona, Austria—where Red Bull personnel typically attend to evaluate junior drivers in person. If he holds the points lead through the summer break, expect a reserve-driver announcement in September, timed with Monza or Singapore. If he falters, the TPC test remains a line on his CV but likely ends his Red Bull pathway. Marko has stated publicly the organisation will not carry more than two reserve drivers into 2025, and both slots are currently filled.
The takeaway
Tsolov's TPC mileage positions him for a **2026** Racing Bulls seat if he clinches F2, tightening Red Bull's junior roster math.
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