Liam Lawson talks loom as Nikola Tsolov breaks silence on Racing Bulls rumours
· Jamie Woodhouse · 2026-08-07 · nguồn gốc
Tsolov addresses Racing Bulls rumours as Liam Lawson talks loom
Should Liam Lawson fear for his F1 2027 seat with Nikola Tsolov on the rise?
Nikola Tsolov is “confident” that he would be able to hit the ground running in Formula 1. The Red Bull junior has already made a very positive impression on Racing Bulls personnel, according to Sky F1’s Anthony Davidson.
However, Tsolov did confirm that he is yet to hold talks over his future, the Bulgarian racer sat atop the Formula 2 championship. Tsolov has been linked with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls seat, though Lawson is expecting talks over his future within Red Bull to commence in the coming days.
Nikola Tsolov chasing opportunity as Liam Lawson talks loom
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Red Bull could find itself in a situation of having more drivers than seats.
Max Verstappen now appears set to remain with Red Bull, though he is yet to confirm his F1 2027 plans. Isack Hadjar has impressed alongside Verstappen, so far breaking the Red Bull second seat curse.
At the junior squad Racing Bulls, Lawson is on his best form yet. Only three times did he fail to score points during the first-half of F1 2026. Alongside him, Arvid Lindblad is enjoying a very respectable rookie season.
Looking for a way in is the 19-year-old Tsolov. The F2 championship leader already has six victories to his name in 2026. That included an F2 history-making run of three consecutive wins across the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone rounds.
Tsolov told Sky F1 that he is “pretty happy at the moment” with his season going “very well.”
Racing Bulls has already confirmed that Tsolov is on its radar, but talks about how 2027 could look for the exciting teenager are yet to happen.
“Nothing yet, unfortunately,” Tsolov admitted when asked what he has been told about his future.
“But it’s still early days. I think we need to get through the summer break. I need to keep doing what I’m doing.
“I have no doubt that if everything goes the same way, I surely would get an opportunity one day.
“So for me, that’s important. I focus on the current, which is F2, and obviously, the better I do today in F2, the more chance I give myself.”
Lawson is anticipating imminent talks on how his future looks, which could have a direct impact on Tsolov’s prospects.
“That conversation is normally around summer break. So I’m sure there’ll be discussions around that,” Lawson told PlanetF1.com and others.
Sky F1’s Anthony Davidson, the former Minardi, Honda and Super Aguri driver, told Tsolov that he was “speaking to some of the Racing Bulls engineers,” who told him that they were “mightily impressed” with Tsolov, having already worked with him.
The Bulgarian clarified that he has been in the simulator, though considering the limited amount of time spent doing so, that approval reflects even greater on Tsolov.
“I did one day of sim already at the factory,” he said. “That’s about all I’ve done.
“So yeah, preparing for when an opportunity comes.
“It felt really good. Felt really natural to drive, to be honest, the car.
“Coming from F2, everything feels quite easy because you have a lot of downforce. But I’m sure it’s much more difficult in real life. So preparing there well will surely give me a head start as well.”
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Tsolov briefly shared last year’s F2 grid with Lindblad, who has gone on to shine as an F1 2026 rookie with Racing Bulls.
Tsolov was therefore asked how confident he is that he could perform in F1 if given the same opportunity.
“Obviously confident,” he confirmed, “because I’m following in their footsteps, so you always want to believe you’re the best at what you do, and I’m trying to show that this year.
“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.”
Tsolov leads the F2 standings by 20 points from Alpine’s Gabriele Mini.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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