Racing Bulls confirm driver 'next in line' for F1 seat promotion

Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane has stated Nikola Tsolov is "next in line" for a seat at the Faenza-based team, with the Red Bull family set to make its decision on its 2027 F1 drivers later in the season.

The Bulgarian leads the F2 drivers' standings eight rounds into the campaign, sitting 27 points clear of Gabriele Mini in second.

As part of the Red Bull junior programme, the 19-year-old has been the subject of persistent speculation of late, with unfounded rumours suggesting the decision had already been made for him to take Liam Lawson's drive next year.

Whilst that is not yet the case, Permane admitted that saying Tsolov is on the "radar" is an "understatement", even though both Lawson and rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad are enjoying strong seasons. 

Tsolov grabbed control of the F2 championship after threading together three consecutive victories across the feature race at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, becoming the first driver to do so at that level since Davide Valsecchi in 2012. 

"He's doing incredibly well," Permane told media, including RacingNews365. "He's now leading the championship after his great weekend at Silverstone.

"So, to say he's on the radar would be a little bit of an understatement. He's next in line, I think it's fair to say."

However, the Racing Bulls team principal avoided sharing any sort of concrete timeline. Red Bull has yet to request Tsolov's FIA Super Licence, and Ayumu Iwasa has so far been the driver deputising in FP1 sessions to satisfy that regulation.

"When that'll be, I don’t know, honestly," the Briton added. "It's definitely not untrue to say we're not thinking about it at the moment.

He's there, he's doing his job, we're doing our job, and we'll make a call on whether, if and when, he comes up to Racing Bulls later this year, I'm sure."