Nikola Tsolov ( bg, Никола Цолов, born 21 December 2006) is a Bulgarian racing driver who is the current champion of the F4 Spanish Championship and a member of the Alpine Affiliate programme. He will race with

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

Career

Karting

The Bulgarian lion (a nickname that he gained early in his career) started his karting career in 2016, supported by his father. He become a Republic champion in 2016 and 2017 in the Bulgarian Mini class. In 2018 he moved to the Italian championships. Driving one of Kart Republic’s machines for DPK Racing adorned in the colours of Fernando Alonso’s FA Racing outfit, Tsolov was one of the breakout stars this year having gone from Mini to OK-J to OK in successive years. He won the WSK Open Cup in 60 Mini karts in 2019, came seventh in the junior world championship last year and then was absolutely on it at the senior level in 2021. Tsolov was invited by

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and M ...

to drive alongside him in the 2021 edition of 24h Endurance race in Dubai, where they finished 3rd.

Formula 4

2022

After being on the radar of

for 2 years, in March 2022 the Two times world champion announced the start of A14 Management with Tsolov and

Clément Novalak Clément Novalak (born 23 December 2000) is a French-Swiss racing driver set to race for Trident in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship, having previously drove for MP Motorsport. He previously raced in the FIA Formula Three Championship for Carl ...

becoming the first drivers joining the program, with Tsolov granting a place in the F4 Spanish Championship for 2022. On 10 March 2022, Tsolov was announced as a driver of Campos. He started Spanish F4 season at Algarve with double pole. On the first race he started on pole, but unfortunately finished 14th, after a problem at the start, gained a 5th place on the second and won the third start with setting the fastest lap in every race. He kept the good pace in the second round on the

Circuito de Jerez Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto (formerly known as Circuit of Jerez and Circuito Permanente de Jerez), is a racing circuit located close to the city of Jerez de la Frontera, south of Seville and deep within the sherry-producing region in t ...

with setting a poleposition and a fast lap in all three races with finishing second on the first race and winning second and third race which made him a leader in the championship. The next weekend on

Circuit Ricardo Tormo Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is ...

he completed his full domminance, winning all three starts with geting 2 pole-positions and another 3 fastest laps. Tsolov secured his championship win on 2 October, after finishing second in the third race on

Circuito de Navarra Circuito de Navarra is a motorsport race track that opened in June 2010 near Los Arcos in the Navarre region of Northern Spain. It is a permanent road course that hosted the Superleague Formula series and the FIA GT1 World Championship. Hi ...

, winning the title 3 races before the end of season.

FIA Formula 3

In September 2022, Tsolov took part in the FIA Formula 3 post-season test, driving for

. On 19 December it was announced that he will be one of ART Grand Prix drivers for the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Formula One

Tsolov became a member of the Alpine Affiliate programme in March 2022.Alpine launches new ‘Affiliate’ driver programme
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Karting record

Karting career summary

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Karting World Championship results

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete F4 Spanish Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

References

External links

Career statistics from Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsolov, Nikola 2006 births Living people Sportspeople from Sofia Bulgarian racing drivers Spanish F4 Championship drivers Campos Racing drivers FA Racing drivers Karting World Championship drivers FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers ART Grand Prix drivers