F2 star Nikola Tsolov: He remembers this piece of advice from Fernando Alonso

Red Bull’s promising young driver Nikola Tsolov is currently competing in his first full season in Formula 2. The young racing driver, who secured second place in Formula 3 last year, leads the overall standings in the top junior series – and many are already tipping him for Formula 1.

And with good reason: Tsolov has made history with three consecutive F2 victories. And with six wins so far this season, he is just one victory away from equalling the record for the most F2 wins in a single season. “Hopefully I can break that record too,” says Tsolov in an exclusive interview with ServusTV. And he emphasises: “Records are there to be broken.”

For now, however, he is focusing on improving as a driver and learning as much as possible. The fact that he is performing so well in Formula 2 – he leads the championship by a 27-point margin – is due in no small part to the thorough preparation he has had. “We’ve had our difficult moments, but we never gave up, and that’s put us in a good position. I think there’s probably a lot more to come. And although things are going so well, I feel that we can take another step forward at every race weekend – that applies to both me and the team.”

“It’s brilliant to have already secured six wins, but I’m taking it one step at a time and sticking to the same approach as before,” insists the 19-year-old, who had already attracted attention with strong performances back in his karting days. That’s why he caught the eye of Fernando Alonso at an early stage; in 2021, Alonso competed alongside him – along with Pedro de la Rosa, Angel Burgueno and Alberto Fernandez – in the 24-hour race in Dubai, where they finished third.

Valuable advice from the two-time world champion

The two-time Formula 1 world champion was also one of the first drivers to be accepted into Tsolov’s ‘A14 Management’ programme. And so the teenager benefited from a wealth of valuable advice given to him by the Spanish Grand Prix star. One piece of advice has always stuck with him: “My time with him was brilliant and he helped me a lot when I made the switch from karting to Formula 4. He gave me lots of tips, and there’s one I’ve never forgotten. If your car is good enough to finish third, you have to cross the line in second. You don’t have to finish fifth,” he recalls.

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“You always have to give it your all, even when you’re struggling and it’s tempting to give up if you’ve got no chance of winning,” says Tsolov. “You can see that in Fernando himself – he never gives up, no matter how competitive the car is. He gave me that advice right at the start. In recent years, I’ve benefited greatly from the Red Bull Junior Team, especially at the start of last year,” says the rising star from Sofia.