A milestone for Red Bull prospect Nikola Tsolov: F1 test debut at Imola

The 2026 season is going exactly as Nikola Tsolov, a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, would have hoped. The teenager from Sofia is competing in his first full season in Formula 2 and is well on his way to winning the championship. He leads the standings by a 20-point margin over Gabriele Mini.

He has claimed six victories this year in the top tier of formula racing; if he crosses the finish line first once more in the remaining ten Formula 2 races, he will equal the current record for the most Formula 2 wins in a single season.

He has already secured his place in the history books of the series hailed as the ‘stepping stone to Formula 1’. With his victory in the main race at the Red Bull Ring and his subsequent triumphs in the sprint and main races at Silverstone, he has now claimed three first places in a row. No Formula 2 driver has ever achieved this before him.

Yesterday, Thursday, he reached another milestone in his career, taking to the track in a Formula 1 car for the first time. At the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, he drove the 2025 VCARB 02, clocking up 690 test kilometres. Afterwards, the 19-year-old said: “The first day of testing in a Formula 1 car is done, and I’m really pleased with how things went today.”

“I really enjoyed every lap, and it’s hard to put into words what it means to me to finally get this chance. A huge thank you to the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team and the Red Bull Junior Team for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’ve been working towards this my whole life, and to finally experience it is simply incredible. I don’t think I’ve quite taken in what we’ve achieved yet, but I enjoyed every lap and hope I’ll soon get the chance to drive a few more kilometres,” added Tsolov.

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Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane was also pleased. He emphasised: “That was a very good step for Nikola; he quickly got to grips with the car and showed the composure you’d hope for from a driver taking the wheel of a Formula 1 car for the first time.”