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Bulgarian Formula 2 driver Nikola Tsolov is set to make his Formula 1 weekend debut today behind the wheel of a Racing Bulls car in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The outing for the "Bulgarian Lion" marks the beginning of a decisive chapter in the fight for a full-time Racing Bulls seat next season.
As several paddock analysts highlighted following Tsolov's impressive test at Imola, Red Bull currently find themselves with three contenders vying for two seats next year: Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad, and Nikola Tsolov.
According to reports emerging from the Netherlands, the ongoing battle between Lawson and Tsolov for the remaining Racing Bulls seat next season is currently deadlocked.
"Red Bull have a very difficult decision to make over the coming weeks," journalist Jacky Martens explained on the Paddock Access podcast. "It's a genuine 50-50 situation, and the choice won't be straightforward. Things get even more intriguing with Tsolov stepping in for FP1 in Mexico. You can be sure the TV cameras will spend plenty of time on Liam in the garage while Nikola is out on track in his car."
"It will be fascinating to see how it unfolds, but my information is that Red Bull are truly split down the middle at the moment, and their final call might just be influenced by Friday's opening practice session."
That puts immense pressure on Nikola's shoulders later today, on top of the strict run plan he must execute for Racing Bulls. Fans shouldn't expect him to chase headline lap times or run low-fuel qualifying simulations. Teams typically task rookies with race-pace data collection and assessing car balance across long runs. Above all, the main objective will be delivering a clean, incident-free session.
Nevertheless, Mexico City has previously served as the springboard into Formula 1 for both Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. Lawson took part in FP1 in Mexico back in 2022, marking his second Friday outing after driving Pierre Gasly's car at Spa. Serving as reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri at the time, Lawson finished 16th in Yuki Tsunoda's car. While that run didn't immediately secure him a race seat—AlphaTauri's 2023 lineup was already locked in—he earned a substitute call-up during 2023 before landing a permanent seat during the 2024 campaign.
Similarly, Hadjar's FP1 outing in Mexico didn't initially seem like a guaranteed breakthrough. He also filled in for Tsunoda in 2023 while sitting 14th in the Formula 2 championship. Despite having logged zero prior mileage in modern F1 machinery, the Frenchman completed 25 laps to finish 17th, later featured in FP1 in Abu Dhabi, and ultimately secured a full-time race seat ahead of the 2025 season.
The timeline between those Mexico FP1 appearances—evidently Racing Bulls' go-to venue for testing young talent—and landing a full-time Formula 1 drive is telling: Lawson waited two years, while Hadjar made the step up in just over twelve months.
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