Nikola Tsolov

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The Bulgarian Lion (a nickname that he gained early in his career)^[1] started his karting career in 2016, supported by his father Dimitar.^[4] He became Republican champion in 2016 and 2017 in the Bulgarian Mini class.

In 2018, Tsolov moved to the Italian championships.^[5] He won the WSK Open Cup in 60 Mini karts in 2019.^[6] He the came seventh in the CIK-FIA World Championship in OKJ in 2020, and was second in the 2021 WSK Final Cup in OK, driving for DPK Racing as part of Fernando Alonso's FA Racing team.^[7] Tsolov was invited by Alonso to drive alongside him, Pedro de la Rosa, Ángel Burgueño, and Alberto Fernandez in the 2021 edition of 24h Endurance race in Dubai, where they finished 3rd.^[8][9]

After competing for Fernando Alonso's karting team for two years, Tsolov became one of the first drivers to join A14 Management along with Clément Novalak.^[10] Tsolov joined the F4 Spanish Championship for 2022 with Campos.^[11] He started the season at Algarve with a double pole.^[12] In the first race, he finished 14th after a problem at the start, but he finished in fifth in the second race and won the third, along with setting the fastest lap in every race.^[13] He kept the good pace in the second round at the Circuito de Jerez by setting a pole position and a fastest lap in all three races, finishing second in the first race and winning second and third races, which took him to the lead of the championship.^[14] The next weekend at Circuit Ricardo Tormo he dominated the field, winning all three starts along with two pole-positions and another three fastest laps.^[15] Tsolov secured his championship win on 2 October, after finishing second in the third race at Circuito de Navarra, winning the title three races before the end of season.^[16]

In September 2022, Tsolov took part in the FIA Formula 3 post-season test, driving for ART Grand Prix.^[17][18][19] On 19 December it was announced that he would be one of ART Grand Prix drivers for the 2023 season.^[20] In February 2023, Tsolov took part in the last round of Formula Regional Middle East Championship driving for R&B Racing by GRS, as part of his preparation for F3.^[21] In the first race of the weekend he finished in ninth place, finished sixth place in the second race and 15th in the third one. He was the only driver to score points for R&B Racing in the championship.^[22]

Across his campaign in FIA Formula 3, Tsolov scored two points finishes in the sprint races in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. He finished the season in 22nd place. Shortly after the season, Tsolov contested Eurocup-3 with GRS Team. He entered two of the eight rounds, finishing the championship in tenth place with two podiums.^[23]

ART Grand Prix retained Tsolov for the 2024 season.^[24] His first victory came in Monaco, where he won the sprint race.^[25] He was the first Bulgarian driver to win a race in the series.^[26] His second win of the season came in the sprint race in round 6 of the championship in Spielberg,^[27] and he took a third in the Hungary feature race.^[28] Tsolov would miss the round at Spa-Francorchamps due to racing there in Eurocup-3 because of the rule that you cannot drive at an circuit on the F3 or F2 calendar if you race there earlier in the year. Because Tsolov was barred from competing, he was replaced by Tuukka Taponen.^[29] He finished the season in 11th overall. Alongside his FIA Formula 3 campaign, Tsolov signed with GRS Team to compete in the full 2024 Eurocup-3 season.^[30] He finished 11th in the championship with only one podium.

In the 2025 off-season, Tsolov competed in one round of the 2025 Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship with Campos Racing.^[31] He finished races one and two in fourth place, and retired from race three. He finished 12th in the standings with 22 points. Tsolov returned to Campos Racing, the team he won the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship with, for his third FIA Formula 3 season, partnering Mari Boya and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.^[32] He took his first win of the season in Bahrain, equalling the record for most wins in the series.^[33] In Monaco, Tsolov took his maiden F3 pole position, topping the Group A session ahead of teammate Boya.^[34] He went on to win the feature race, making him the first driver to win five races in FIA Formula 3.^[35]

Tsolov made an early debut in FIA Formula 2 in 2025, replacing Formula E–bound Pepe Martí at Campos Racing for the closing two rounds.^[36] On debut in Lusail, he qualified seventh. At the sprint race in Abu Dhabi, Tsolov finished third, getting his first podium finish in Formula 2.^[37]

In September 2025, Tsolov was announced as a full-time driver for 2026, remaining with Campos.^[38] Tsolov won the feature race at the opening round at Melbourne, getting his first victory in Formula 2. His next round will be in Miami, which is at the start of May.

Tsolov became a member of the Alpine Affiliate programme in March 2022.^[39] On 14 February 2023 he was promoted to a full member of Alpine Academy.^[40] On 4 November 2024, Tsolov announced on social media that he would leave the academy with immediate effect.^[41] One day later, he was announced to be joining the Red Bull Junior Team for 2025.^[42] He debuted in Formula One machinery at a Sofia showrun that June, driving the Red Bull RB7.^[43]

Season	Series	Team	Position
2016	Bulgarian Republic Championship — Mini		1st
2017	Bulgarian Republic Championship — Mini		1st
	ROK Cup Italy — Mini ROK	Speed Kart	25th
2018	WSK Open Cup — 60 Mini	Birel ART Racing	33rd
	WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini		21st
2019	South Garda Winter Cup — Mini ROK	Newman Motorsport	14th
	WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini		14th
	Italian Championship — 60 Mini	Team Driver Racing Kart	12th
	Trofeo delle Industrie — 60 Mini		11th
	WSK Euro Series — 60 Mini		11th
	ROK Cup Superfinal — Mini ROK		12th
	WSK Open Cup — 60 Mini		1st
	WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini		13th
2020	WSK Champions Cup — OK-J	DPK Racing	11th
	South Garda Winter Cup — OK-J		11th
	WSK Super Master Series — OK-J		NC
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK-J		19th
	WSK Euro Series — OK-J		11th
	Champions of the Future — OK-J		15th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK-J		7th
	WSK Open Cup — OK		5th
2021	WSK Champions Cup — OK	DPK Racing	8th
	Trofeo del Grifone — OK		1st
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		8th
	WSK Euro Series — OK		4th
	Italian Championship — X30 Senior		2nd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		4th
	WSK Open Cup — OK		5th
	Champions of the Future — OK		3rd
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		5th
	South Garda Winter Cup — OK		4th
	WSK Final Cup — OK		2nd
	24 Hours of Dubai — Superkarts	MD Racing	3rd
Sources:[44][45]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2020	DPK Racing	OKJ	ZUE QH 15	ZUE R 8	SAR QH 13	SAR R NR	WAC QH 43	WAC R DNQ			19th	8
2021	DPK Racing	OK	GEN QH 7	GEN R 5	AUB QH 14	AUB R 29	SAR QH 1	SAR R 2	ZUE QH 2	ZUE R 17	4th	55

Year	Team	Class	Quali Heats	Main race
2020	DPK Racing	OKJ	4th	7th
2021	DPK Racing	OK	7th	5th

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Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2022	F4 Spanish Championship	Campos Racing	21	13	15	17	18	400	1st
2023	Formula Regional Middle East Championship	R&B Racing by GRS	3	0	0	0	0	10	23rd
	FIA Formula 3 Championship	ART Grand Prix	18	0	0	0	0	6	22nd
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	—N/a	DNF
	Eurocup-3	GRS Team	4	0	2	2	2	44	10th
2024	FIA Formula 3 Championship	ART Grand Prix	18	3	0	1	3	75	11th
	Eurocup-3	GRS Team	10	0	0	0	1	47	11th
2025	Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship	Campos Racing	3	0	0	0	0	22	12th
	FIA Formula 3 Championship		19	2	3	1	6	124	2nd
	FIA Formula 2 Championship		4	0	0	0	1	12	18th
2026	FIA Formula 2 Championship	Campos Racing	2	1	0	0	1	25	1st*

* Season still in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Pos	Points
2022	Campos Racing	ALG 1 14	ALG 2 1	ALG 3 5	JER 1 2	JER 2 1	JER 3 1	CRT 1 1	CRT 2 1	CRT 3 1	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 1	SPA 3 1	ARA 1 2	ARA 2 1	ARA 3 4	NAV 1 3	NAV 2 2	NAV 3 3	CAT 1 1	CAT 2 1	CAT 3 1	1st	400

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2023	R&B Racing (GRS)	DUB1 1	DUB1 2	DUB1 3	KUW1 1	KUW1 2	KUW1 3	KUW2 1	KUW2 2	KUW2 3	DUB2 1	DUB2 2	DUB2 3	ABU 1 9	ABU 2 6	ABU 3 15	23rd	10

† – Driver did not finish the race but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of the top-10 finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2023	ART Grand Prix	BHR SPR 26	BHR FEA 15	MEL SPR 11	MEL FEA 21	MON SPR 14	MON FEA 11	CAT SPR 13	CAT FEA 19	RBR SPR 16	RBR FEA 16	SIL SPR 15	SIL FEA 11	HUN SPR Ret	HUN FEA 25	SPA SPR 7	SPA FEA 17	MNZ SPR 9	MNZ FEA 12			22nd	6
2024	ART Grand Prix	BHR SPR 4	BHR FEA 11	MEL SPR 20	MEL FEA 19	IMO SPR 13	IMO FEA 26	MON SPR 1	MON FEA 27	CAT SPR 13	CAT FEA 6	RBR SPR 1	RBR FEA 6	SIL SPR 5	SIL FEA 15	HUN SPR 29	HUN FEA 1	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	MNZ SPR 19	MNZ FEA 17	11th	75
2025	Campos Racing	MEL SPR 8	MEL FEA Ret	BHR SPR 1	BHR FEA 5	IMO SPR 3	IMO FEA 9	MON SPR 24	MON FEA 1	CAT SPR 3	CAT FEA 5	RBR SPR 3	RBR FEA DSQ	SIL SPR 29	SIL FEA 20	SPA SPR 4	SPA FEA C	HUN SPR 15	HUN FEA 6	MNZ SPR 22	MNZ FEA 2	2nd	124

Year	Team	Car	Qualifying	Quali Race	Main race
2023	ART Grand Prix	Dallara F3 2019	15th	13th	DNF

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	DC	Points
2023	GRS Team	SPA 1	SPA 2	ARA 1	ARA 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	JER 1 2	JER 2 2	EST 1	EST 2	CRT 1 9	CRT 2 Ret	CAT 1 WD	CAT 2 WD		10th	44
2024	GRS Team	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 C	RBR 1	RBR 2	POR 1 9	POR 2 9	POR 3 8	LEC 1	LEC 2	ZAN 1 6	ZAN 2 8	ARA 1 5	ARA 2 3	JER 1 10	JER 2 Ret	CAT 1	CAT 2	11th	47

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2025	Campos Racing	JER 1 4	JER 2 4	JER 3 Ret	POR 1	POR 2	POR 3	ARA 1	ARA 2	12th	22

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of the top-10 finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
2025	Campos Racing	MEL SPR	MEL FEA	BHR SPR	BHR FEA	JED SPR	JED FEA	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	BAK SPR	BAK FEA	LSL SPR 10	LSL FEA 7	YMC SPR 3	YMC FEA 12	18th	12
2026	Campos Racing	MEL SPR 17	MEL FEA 1	MIA SPR	MIA FEA	CAN SPR	CAN FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	MAD SPR	MAD FEA	BAK SPR	BAK FEA	LSL SPR	LSL FEA	YMC SPR	YMC FEA	1st*	25*

* Season still in progress.