A Spanish Outlet Reported Nikola Tsolov Has a “Guaranteed” Racing Bulls Seat for 2027. The Team Principal Says They “Haven’t Even Discussed It.”

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Photo Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

SoyMotor ran the exclusive on June 23, claiming a deal was “practically done” and “verbally agreed” for the 19-year-old Bulgarian to reach Formula 1 in 2027. It’s a single-source report built on unnamed sources. No contract, no announcement, no confirmation from the team exists.

Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane shut it down at the Austrian GP: “They’re just rumours. Honestly, we haven’t even discussed it. Not at all.” He called Tsolov a talent who “will very soon be knocking on the door” and said the team is “following him very closely,” while making clear he’s “very happy with the two drivers I have at the moment.”

Nikola Tsolov is one of the fastest young prospects in the Red Bull system, so the rumor isn’t crazy on its face. It’s just not real yet.

Nikola Tsolov posing for a selfie with a fan at Yas Marina Circuit, wearing Sparco gear and Marshall headphones.
A fan leans in for a selfie with Tsolov in the paddock at Yas Marina Circuit during the Yas Island Sprint Race weekend on December 6, 2025. Photo by Dom Gibbons / Getty Images.

Tsolov, born in December 2006, has been a Red Bull Junior since 2025. In 2026 he’s a rookie in FIA Formula 2 with Campos Racing and has already stacked multiple wins, putting him squarely in the title fight. That’s the legitimate story here: a genuinely quick driver knocking on the F1 door.

Nikola Tsolov in a Red Bull race suit spraying champagne on the podium at the Albert Park Formula 2 race.
Champagne flying, Tsolov erupts in celebration on the Melbourne podium after winning the Formula 2 Round 1 Feature Race at Albert Park on March 8, 2026. Photo by Martin Keep / AFP via Getty Images.

The SoyMotor report went further than that. It described a 2027 Racing Bulls seat as “garantizado,” an agreement “practically done” and “verbally agreed.” It also floated a conditional chain of events: if Max Verstappen stays at Red Bull for 2027, Liam Lawson would be dropped at Racing Bulls to open a spot for Tsolov; if Verstappen leaves, the picture changes again. All of that traces back to unnamed sources and a single outlet.

Nikola Tsolov in a Sparco vest and Marshall headphones tossing a tennis ball at the Abu Dhabi F2 round.
Wearing headphones and a Sparco vest, Tsolov tosses a tennis ball courtside ahead of the Yas Island Feature Race on December 7, 2025. Photo by Dom Gibbons / Getty Images.

Alan Permane’s on-record answer, reported by Crash.net, Formula1.com and PlanetF1, cuts against the whole framing. “They’re just rumours. Honestly, we haven’t even discussed it. Not at all.” Racing Bulls currently runs Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Permane says he’s happy with both.

Nikola Tsolov holding a silver trophy on the podium in a Red Bull Campos Racing suit at Yas Marina Circuit.
Trophy in hand, Tsolov gestures to the crowd after finishing third in the F2 Sprint Race at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on December 6, 2025. Photo by Dom Gibbons / Getty Images.

The talent is real. The timeline is plausible down the line. The signed 2027 seat is not something anyone at the team has confirmed.

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Nadia Santiago

Nadia Santiago is a writer who lives between the clouds and the coastline, and writes about all the things your heart knows but your mouth can never quite say.