Racing Bulls Boss on Tsolov's F1 Debut: We Couldn't Have Asked for More

Pulse Sports Team 20:57 - 30 October 2026

Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane was full of praise for Nikola Tsolov, who made his Formula 1 debut during Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, standing in for Liam Lawson.

Speaking to F1 TV during the session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Permane stated that the Faenza-based team couldn't have asked for more from the "Bulgarian Lion". The Briton added that Tsolov and his teammate ran similar programmes, with the Bulgarian conducting early aero tests to trial different front wing configurations. Tsolov ended the session 12th fastest, just 0.126 seconds behind Lindblad.

"Textbook stuff. He gave us great feedback, he's only a tenth off Arvid, and we couldn't have asked for anything more from him. Before the session, I told him this wasn't an audition because we already know how fast he is. "We were more interested in his feedback, both during and after the session. Nikola ran some aero tests at the start, evaluating different front wings. From a tyre and fuel perspective, he and Arvid were on identical programmes. "We're in no rush with our decision for next season. We're in a very fortunate position to have three very strong drivers, but we'll have to decide soon," Permane concluded.