{"id":809013,"date":"2026-07-18T22:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/809013\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T22:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:19:14","slug":"f1-news-alan-permane-fuels-nikola-tsolov-racing-bulls-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/809013\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 news: Alan Permane fuels Nikola Tsolov Racing Bulls talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018Next
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNikola Tsolov is ‘next in line’ to race at Racing Bulls according to Alan Permane. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n

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The Bulgarian has emerged as the leading candidate from Red Bull\u2019s junior program after taking control of the Formula 2 championship during an impressive first full season in the category.<\/p>\n

Tsolov currently leads Gabriele Mini by 22 points after finishing fourth in the Belgian sprint, despite the result bringing his three-race winning streak to an end.<\/p>\n

His performances have only strengthened speculation that he could move into Formula 1 next season, with recent reports claiming the 19-year-old had already been guaranteed a seat at one of Red Bull\u2019s two teams.<\/a><\/p>\n

Permane previously dismissed suggestions that an agreement was already in place but has now offered his clearest indication that Tsolov is at the front of the queue should an opportunity emerge at Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing incredibly well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo say he\u2019s on the radar would be a little bit of an understatement. He\u2019s next in line, I think is fair to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tsolov finished runner-up in Formula 3 last season before stepping up to F2, where four Feature Race victories have placed him at the centre of Red Bull\u2019s latest driver discussions.<\/p>\n

Permane stopped short of confirming when a promotion could occur, insisting Racing Bulls had not yet reached the point of making a decision over its future line-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that will be, I don\u2019t know, honestly. It\u2019s not an untruth to say we\u2019re not thinking about it at the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s there, he\u2019s doing his job, we\u2019re doing our job, and we\u2019ll make a call if and when he comes up to Racing Bulls later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Too slow\u2019: Lawson concedes Spa pace deficit<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The comments arrive amid continued uncertainty over Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, with neither driver confirmed at Racing Bulls beyond the current season.<\/p>\n

The reports claiming Tsolov had already secured a Formula 1 seat indicated Lawson would make way for the Bulgarian, although the Kiwi played down suggestions that his possible arrival could force him out of the Red Bull system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very early days,\u201d Lawson said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a very good season so far. We\u2019ve enjoyed a lot, obviously a lot to learn with these cars, and we\u2019re doing that every single weekend, and we\u2019re in a good place, but obviously trying to keep that momentum going.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very early days for those kinds of conversations, but I\u2019m honestly very happy, and we\u2019re all pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New Zealander has strengthened his position during the opening part of the season by scoring points in seven of the first nine rounds.<\/p>\n

His form has continued a significant turnaround following a difficult start to the 2025 campaign, when he was dropped by Red Bull after only two races before rebuilding his confidence at Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel I\u2019m in a good place, I feel like I\u2019ve learned a lot over the last 12 months,\u201d Lawson said in Austria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are working well at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindblad has also impressed during his rookie campaign, leaving Racing Bulls with two drivers capable of consistently challenging near the front of the midfield.<\/p>\n

The pair helped the team record four consecutive double points finishes heading into the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, lifting Racing Bulls to sixth in the constructors\u2019 championship and within one point of Alpine.<\/p>\n

Permane acknowledged the team may eventually need to manage the rivalry between Lawson and Lindblad as both continue to push for their futures within the Red Bull structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to have two quick guys, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be some management needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re incredibly close \u2013 I think if you look at this morning, their ideal laps are separated by milliseconds, so it\u2019s going to be nip and tuck all year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Permane added that preparing Lawson and Lindblad for a potential promotion to Red Bull Racing remained one of the team\u2019s key responsibilities, particularly if an opening became available alongside or in place of Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the goal of both our guys, for sure. And the goal of mine and our team is to develop drivers for that team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think going to specifics is far more questionable than we\u2019re on. But I think we need to put them both in a position that they\u2019re ready to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if and when [we need] another driver, [we\u2019ve got] one or two to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both drivers will start in the top 10 for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Lindblad starting seventh and Lawson ninth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikola Tsolov is ‘next in line’ to race at Racing Bulls according to Alan Permane. Image: XPB Images…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[14757,64,63,814,817,813,816,206381,9107,85],"class_list":["post-809013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-alan-permane","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-belgian-gp","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-nikola-tsolov","tag-racing-bulls","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}