AUGUST 27, 2026

Tsolov completes 300km and clears F1 licence hurdle

Nikola Tsolov has completed the required 300 kilometres in a Racing Bulls car at Imola, removing a key obstacle to an F1 super-licence.

The significant number in Nikola Tsolov's Imola test was not on the stopwatch. It was on the odometer.

The Red Bull junior completed at least 300 kilometres in Racing Bulls' 2025 VCARB 02, satisfying the Formula 1 mileage requirement needed for a driver without the relevant recent experience to qualify for a super-licence.

The running took place as part of the team's testing programme with previous cars. It gave Tsolov his first proper day in contemporary Formula 1 machinery after earlier demonstration work and, more importantly, removed a piece of administrative scenery from his path.

A super-licence application still has to satisfy the FIA's full set of conditions and receive formal approval. Completing the distance does not create a Formula 1 seat, either, although in the driver market such distinctions have never discouraged a good rumour.

Tsolov is racing for Campos in Formula 2 and has been linked repeatedly with Racing Bulls. The team has not announced that he will take part in first practice at Monza, but he can now be considered for a Formula 1 weekend without the missing 300 kilometres complicating the discussion.

That is useful for Red Bull, which has always preferred to keep several young drivers within reach. Its decisions about the 2027 line-ups will depend on what happens with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad as much as on Tsolov's progress, and the organisation is not famous for announcing those decisions early.

The test therefore changes Tsolov's status without settling his future. Before Imola he was a promising junior who still had a regulatory box to tick. After Imola he is a promising junior whom Racing Bulls can put in the car if it chooses.

In Formula 1 terms, that is not a promotion. It is, however, the removal of a very useful excuse.