It has been one of the weekend’s talking points in Austria. The Spanish outlet SoyMotor published exclusively that Bulgarian driver Nikola Tsolov would race for Racing Bulls next season, making his Formula 1 debut. A news item that the team has denied, reaffirming its confidence in Liam Lawson.
After speaking with Racing Bulls, Australian journalist Kym Illman described the situation as “pure crap.” The Red Bull executives hold the Bulgarian driver in high regard, whom they back in Formula 2, but they have not decided to drop Lawson, according to this information.
Tsolov has separated from Fernando Alonso and his management agency
Nikola Tsolov added another victory in Formula 2 this weekend in Austria, probably unaware of the fuss surrounding his name. SoyMotor revealed that Racing Bulls had already confirmed Tsolov as the driver for 2027, but both the team and all paddock media denied the news after speaking with the principals in Austria.
As recounted by the Australian journalist Kym Illman, he claims that Racing Bulls branded the rumor about Tsolov as “pure crap.” Additionally, Illman states that both Lawson and the Red Bull junior team contacted SoyMotor to deny it, and that Tsolov himself learned of it through social media.
Behind this matter lies another issue that lingers, and it is Tsolov’s contractual relationship with Alonso. Because the young Bulgarian was a member of A14 Management, but all this has served to reveal that the reality has changed: Tsolov has separated from Fernando Alonso.
In fact, in the original article about Tsolov’s signing with Racing Bulls it was already pointed out that “he no longer belongs to A14 Management, and we are aware that the breakup was tempestuous”. Tsolov and Alonso have been apart since the start of the season, but neither side had wanted to make it public until now.
In response to the rumors, Tsolov has had to confirm this weekend that, indeed, he is no longer part of A14 Management, of which he was once its first protégé. Also paddock journalists have confirmed that Red Bull manages Tsolov’s career and that the separation from Alonso was not the friendliest.
Images | Formula 2
