Nikola Dimitrov Tsolov (, ; born 21 December 2006) is a Bulgarian racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Campos Racing as part of the Red Bull Junior Team.
Born and raised in Sofia, Tsolov began competitive kart racing aged nine, winning several national and continental titles before graduating to junior formulae in 2022. He won the F4 Spanish Championship in his rookie season. Tsolov was a member of the Alpine Academy from 2022 until 2024, before moving to the Red Bull Junior Team. Nicknamed " the Bulgarian Lion", he holds the record for most wins (5) in FIA Formula 3.
Career
Karting
The Bulgarian Lion (a nickname that he gained early in his career)
started his karting career in 2016, supported by his father Dimitar.
He became Republican champion in 2016 and 2017 in the Bulgarian Mini class.
In 2018 he moved to the Italian championships.
Formula 4
2022
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.
Tsolov joined the F4 Spanish Championship for 2022 with
Campos Racing.
He started the season at Algarve with a double pole.
In the first race he unfortunately 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.
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.
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.
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.
Formula Regional Middle East
In February 2023, Tsolov took part in the last round of 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship driving for R&B Racing by GRS, as part of his preparation for Formula 3 season.
In the first race of the weekend he finished in 9th place, finished 6th 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.
FIA Formula 3
2023
In September 2022, Tsolov took part in the FIA Formula 3 post-season test, driving for ART Grand Prix.
On 19 December it was announced that he would be one of ART Grand Prix drivers for the 2023 season.
Tsolov scored two points finishes in the sprint races in Spa-Francorchamps and
Monza Circuit. He finished the season in 22nd place.
2024
ART Grand Prix retained Tsolov for the 2024 season.
His first victory came in Monaco, where he won the sprint race.
He was the first Bulgarian driver to win a race in the series.
His second win of the season came in the sprint race in round 6 of the championship in Spielberg,
and he took a third in the
Hungaroring feature race.
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.
He finished the season in 11th overall.
2025
Tsolov returned to
Campos Racing, the team he won the 2022 F4 Spanish Championship with, for his third Formula 3 season for 2025, partnering
Mari Boya and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.
He took his first win of the season in Bahrain, equalling the record for most wins in the series.
In Monaco, Tsolov took his maiden F3 pole position, topping the Group A session ahead of teammate Boya.
He went on to win the feature race, making him the first driver to win five races in FIA Formula 3.
Eurocup-3
2023
Shortly after his FIA Formula 3 season, Tsolov contested in the 2023 Eurocup-3 season with GRS Team. He entered 2 of the 8 rounds, finishing the championship in 10th place with two podiums.
2024
Alongside his FIA Formula 3 campaign, Tsolov signed with GRS Team to compete in the full 2024 Eurocup-3 season.
He finished 11th in the championship with only one podium.
2025
In the 2025 off-season, Tsolov competed in one round of the 2025 Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship with
Campos Racing.
He finished races one and two in fourth place, and retired from race three. He finished 12th in the standings with 22 points.
Formula One
Tsolov became a member of the
Alpine Academy programme in March 2022.
On 14 February 2023 he was promoted to a full member of Alpine Academy.
On 4 November 2024, Tsolov announced on social media that he would leave the academy with immediate effect.
One day later, he was announced to be joining the Red Bull Junior Team for 2025.
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Karting record
Karting career summary
|
|
|
| ROK Cup Italy — Mini ROK | Speed Kart | 25th |
|
| WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini | 21st |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results
() (Races in
bold indicate pole position) (Races in
italics indicate fastest lap)
|
| 2020
!nowrap | DPK Racing
! OKJ | ZUE
QH
| ZUE
R
| SAR
QH
| SAR
R
| WAC
QH
| WAC
R
| !style="background:#CFCFFF;" 19th
!style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 8 |
| 2021
!nowrap | DPK Racing
! OK | GEN
QH
| GEN
R
| AUB
QH
| AUB
R
| SAR
QH
| SAR
R
| ZUE
QH
| ZUE
R
!style="background:#DFFFDF;" | 4th
!style="background:#DFFFDF;" | 55 |
Complete Karting World Championship results
Racing record
Racing career summary
|
|
|
| FIA Formula 3 Championship | ART Grand Prix | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 22nd |
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | DNF |
| Eurocup-3 | GRS Team | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 10th |
|
| Eurocup-3 | GRS Team | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 11th |
|
| FIA Formula 3 Championship | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 89* | * |
Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
() (Races in
bold indicate pole position) (Races in
italics indicate fastest lap)
|
| 2022
!nowrap | Campos Racing | ALG
1
| ALG
2
| ALG
3
| JER
1
| JER
2
| JER
3
| CRT
1
| CRT
2
| CRT
3
| SPA
1
| SPA
2
| SPA
3
| ARA
1
| ARA
2
| ARA
3
| NAV
1
| NAV
2
| NAV
3
| CAT
1
| CAT
2
| CAT
3
!style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 1st
!style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 400 |
Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results
(
key) (Races in
bold indicate pole position) (Races in
italics indicate fastest lap)
– Driver did not finish the race but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Season still in progress.
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(
key) (Races in
bold indicate pole position; races in
italics indicate points for the fastest lap of the top-10 finishers)
|
| !nowrapART Grand Prix
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | !22nd
!6 |
| !nowrapART Grand Prix
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SPA
SPR | SPA
FEA | | !11th
!75 |
| !nowrapCampos Racing
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | !*
!* |
Season still in progress.
Complete Macau Grand Prix results
Complete Eurocup-3 results
() (Races in
bold indicate pole position) (Races in
italics indicate fastest lap)
|
| 2023
!nowrap | GRS Team | SPA
1 | SPA
2 | ARA
1 | ARA
2 | MNZ
1 | MNZ
2 | ZAN
1 | ZAN
2 | JER
1
| JER
2
| EST
1 | EST
2 | CRT
1
| CRT
2
| CAT
1
| CAT
2
| ! 10th
! 44 |
| 2024
!nowrap | GRS Team | SPA
1
| SPA
2
| RBR
1 | RBR
2 | POR
1
| POR
2
| POR
3
| LEC
1 | LEC
2 | ZAN
1
| ZAN
2
| ARA
1
| ARA
2
| JER
1
| JER
2
| CAT
1 | CAT
2
! 11th
! 47 |
Complete Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship results
() (Races in
bold indicate pole position) (Races in
italics indicate fastest lap)
Notes
External links
