F1 boss makes statement on driver linked to join team: 'He's doing very well'

Tsolov, red bull, social — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 boss makes statement on driver linked to join team: 'He's doing very well'

But is he doing well enough?

Chris Deeley

Friday 26 June 2026 23:15

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Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane has responded to rumours that a young driver has been told he'll race for the team in 2027.

Bulgarian teenager Nikola Tsolov has taken to F2 brilliantly in his debut season, winning three of the first ten races of the year to sit second in the drivers' championship behind Alpine Academy youngster Gabriele Mini.

That hot start for the Red Bull junior driver has led to some perhaps inevitable links with a move up to F1 for next season, with the Racing Bulls team seeing a lot of driver turnover in recent years.

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Liam Lawson was the driver said to be on the chopping block to make way for a potential Tsolov promotion, currently in his second full season in the sport after also picking up 11 starts across 2023 and 2024.

Permane: Tsolov talk is just rumours

Permane, however, has well and truly shut down those rumours. Speaking to Sky Sports at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday, he insisted that there had been 'no discussion at all' about the possibility of promoting Tsolov for 2027, pointing out that he doesn't even have the required superlicense at present.

“They are just rumours," the British team principal said. "We honestly haven't even discussed it. not at all, of course [he's on our radar] he's in the Red Bull program, he's doing very well in F2, but I'm very happy with the two I have at the moment.

"Like I say, no discussion at all. Tsolov also doesn't have a super license yet.”

Permane also took the time to praise Ayumu Iwasa after the 24-year-old stepped in for FP1 in Austria, setting the 15th best time of the session, saying: "Ayumu has done a great job for us this morning."

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F1 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls Nikola Tsolov