Racing Bulls has confirmed that Nikola Tsolov will take over Liam Lawson's VCARB 03 for the first free practice session of the Mexico City Grand Prix, marking the Bulgarian's maiden appearance in an official F1 session.
The session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez represents a significant step for the Red Bull Junior Programme driver, who joined the scheme in 2025 after winning the Spanish F4 Championship in 2022 and finishing runner-up in FIA Formula 3 this year.
Tsolov arrives in Mexico on the back of a maiden Formula 1 test with the team at Imola in August, where he covered 690 kilometres across 143 laps in the 2025-specification VCARB 02, powered by the Honda RBPTH003 engine, as part of a Testing of Previous Cars programme.
He currently competes for Campos Racing in Formula 2, where he sits second in the standings, seven points behind leader Rafael Câmara with two rounds remaining. His campaign has included six wins, among them victories in Melbourne and Miami and a sweep of both races at Silverstone.
"A big thank you to VCARB for giving me this opportunity in Mexico. Following my test with the team at Imola in August, I'm excited to take this next step, build on that experience and learn more about the car and the current regulations. I'll focus on making the most of the session, working closely with the team and providing useful feedback," Tsolov said.
Under the 2026 sporting regulations, every competitor must field an eligible rookie, defined as a driver with no more than two Grand Prix starts, in at least two free practice sessions per car across the season, amounting to four mandatory rookie outings per team. Sunday's running in Mexico goes some way to fulfilling that requirement for Racing Bulls.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said: "Running Nikola in FP1 is an important step in his development within the Red Bull Junior Programme.
"It reflects our commitment to nurturing emerging talent and giving our junior drivers valuable track time and the support they need to learn and develop.
"Having already worked with Nikola at Imola, we're looking forward to seeing him build on that experience in Mexico and to the feedback he can provide to help support our preparations for the weekend."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the United States GP and look ahead to Mexico City! Red Bull's return of gearbox gremlins is a lead discussion, as is Kimi Antonelli being just days away from becoming world champion.
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