What the Bulgarian Lion Tells About Himself

"It all started in 2016 in Bulgaria, in a karting class called Mini BG. These are the slowest karts. I was only nine years old and won almost every race, and then the championship."

"Of course, from there I moved on to international karting, mainly in Italy. Then I made the step to Formula 4 in 2022."

"I was essentially racing for Alonso's karting team, which he supported. I performed well with his affiliated team; we had a few meetings, he saw potential in me and decided to support the early stages of my single-seater career. Of course, he helped me get into Formula 4, as well as during my first two years in Formula 3."

"I'm no longer part of 'A14 Management,' but I've been in the Red Bull Junior Team since last year, which has also played a huge role in my career."

"As a driver, of course, you want to believe you're the fastest. I think that's my strong suit – pure speed. I believe another huge strength I've discovered recently is the fact that I don't feel like I have a limit or a plateau in the learning process. The more I drive, the more I develop, learn, and get faster. And that's pretty cool because I never see an end to improvement, so to speak."

"I'm already at a very good level and feel confident in what I can do now. But I believe there's still more to come, and I can get better. So, day by day, I hope to continue improving and learning, because that's what drives me forward. That's my goal, you know, to keep learning every day."

"That's quite a difficult question because there are stronger and weaker points. You know, I don't think you can be at the level we are and have a 'weakness.' It's more that one thing is better than another, but nothing is truly weak. So it's hard to answer that question, but it really depends on the day or the track."

"Perhaps the fact that I can always continue to improve. Maybe my baseline isn't good enough."

"Let's say my weaknesses are all the things related to the off-track image, where you have to spend a lot of time. I'd say I don't particularly enjoy spending too much time trying to look good. That's not the most enjoyable part of my sport, I'd say, or any sport. If I could choose to just drive, I would choose that."

"I have to say the entire Silverstone weekend (fifth in qualifying, followed by a double victory). I think we worked really hard. I was happy with myself in qualifying. With the team, we improved the car with every outing, which was very cool to see – that improvement in every session. We just made the most of the race. And then, of course, in the main race, everything went according to plan. It was a really great weekend."

"Alpine noticed me at my first Formula 4 test, so I had a lot of pressure because at my first F4 drive, there was an Alpine scout there to see if I was good enough to join the academy. He was quite happy, quite impressed, so we signed with them."

"Then I had three great seasons with them, when we won Spanish Formula 4, of course, and then two difficult years in Formula 3. But then an opportunity opened up for me at Red Bull. At the time, we thought it was the best decision; clearly, looking back, it was."

"And Red Bull has been incredibly helpful and a step ahead of everyone else. I have that feeling. The way they manage to prepare their drivers, speaking from personal experience, is impressive. So my learning curve really jumped as soon as I joined Red Bull. They just give you 100% all the time, for everything you need. Whatever you need and think might bring you better performance, you just ask for it and you get it. And that's why they expect 100% from you too."

"Many people say it's quite tough in the Red Bull junior team, especially when Helmut Marko was still in charge. But for me, it makes sense and it should be that way, because if they give 100% so you can do the best possible job, then they expect you to deliver 100% of the results. So things align."

"Different kinds of sports. I'm a sporty type, I'm athletic, so I love activities, even board games with friends and listening to a lot of music. I like music, just hanging out with friends, playing games. So it's pretty cool."

"Hopefully in 2027, but you never know. I think that's something no one can know until you sign."