Nikola Tsolov will make his first appearance in an F1 car this week during a testing of previous cars (TPC) run at Imola, Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer has confirmed.
The Bulgarian driver, who leads the F2 standings, will drive a VCARB 02 from 2025 on Thursday at the home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which dropped off the F1 calendar last year but could make a return as a late-season substitute for the at-risk Middle Eastern rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Tsolov has been a member of the Red Bull junior programme since last year, having previously been with Alpine, and is eyeing a promotion to the F1 paddock with Racing Bulls.
The 19-year-old is in contention for a race seat, but could well take the reserve role given the strong performances of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad this season.
Despite having three promising drivers for just two seats, both team principal Alan Permane and now Bayer insist it is not a case of having a so-called nice problem to deal with.
"No, because... Arvid and Liam are both doing a fantastic job; Liam is currently ninth in the drivers' ranking, and he's shown great pace in qualifying and in races," Bayer told media, including RacingNews365, before addressing Tsolov's situation.
Permane has previously said he is "next in line" and on the radar of the decision at Racing Bulls, whilst reiterating that the decision will be made later in the campaign.
"And the same really goes for Nikola, who's doing a really, really good job in Formula 2," Bayer stated. "We will actually run him next week in a TPC at Imola, just to continue to help prepare him.
"But, ultimately, the drivers' lineup for next year is a decision for Alan to make, and so he will do the best thing for the team."
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