Tsolov aiming to take title fight to the wire with he and Campos Racing at their “maximum”

Title contender Nikola Tsolov has been one of the star performers so far in 2025, and it’s no wonder the Bulgarian is carrying a lot of confidence into the final three rounds.

While the Campos Racing driver hasn’t enjoyed as much success as earlier in the season over the latest two rounds, he is confident that he will be turning his form around sooner rather than later.

Speaking ahead of Round 8, Tsolov dived into why he’s been finding his form much more consistently this year, what the biggest difference is compared to previous seasons and the title fight.

“It's been getting better every round,” the 18-year-old explained. “There's clearly progress and that is what we want to see. I think Spielberg was the best one so far. So I hope to keep going like that and consistently have rounds like that.

“Obviously, it's a little bit of a setback with disqualification, but I thought we were really closing the fight until then. I'm just looking at myself, trying to keep doing what I've been doing, so let's see how it ends up.”

Years of learning

Tsolov arrived on the F3 grid as a 16-year-old, and as one of the youngest drivers to make the step up. Since then, he has achieved the most wins in Championship history, and is fighting for the title in his third campaign.

The Red Bull Junior Team driver has come a long way then, and he himself says that the first year in F3 was a steep learning curve to overcome. Now though, those tougher experiences have helped him compete at the level he’s currently performing at.

"When I came in, I’d just turned 16, so I’ve changed a lot"

“It’s quite funny. I rushed into F3, so I was pretty young when I got in, with no prep, no experience, which was tough. But I’m still one of the youngest, but now with a lot of experience, which is good for me.

“When I came in, I’d just turned 16, so I’ve changed a lot. Every six months you’re different. The level of commitment to the sport and the amount of stuff I’ve managed to learn over the three years, I mean, I’ve had so many difficulties, which was good, because I have them now, so later on, I’ll know how to deal with every situation.

“It has made me learn so much, and I think I’ve built a lot of reputation and a lot of experience around here. So that’s going to be good for my next steps.”

Catching in the title fight

Following the first two rounds of 2025, Tsolov was fifth in the Standings, 33 points behind two-time Feature Race winner Rafael Câmara. It looked at that point as though the Brazilian was about to run away with the season.

Since then, however, Tsolov has added four podiums, including a Feature Race win in Monte Carlo, and he is a major contender in the title race based on current form.

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While the gap remains 29 points following his Spielberg disqualification for a technical infringement, he believes that the difference is surmountable before the chequered flag falls in Monza.

“I think it is a big gap, but it’s only two points more than what I arrived in Spielberg with, and I still closed it down to one point (before the disqualification). So it was a special weekend, because you don’t have many of them, and a weekend that he wasn’t performing at his usual.

"I consider myself being more competitive in the second half of the year"

“There are still three rounds, so that’s six races. I consider myself being more competitive in the second half of the year, always. So that’s a good thing for me. He had a great start, but I think we can still put on pressure and close the gap.

“But at the moment, like I said, I’m only focusing on what I can do better, what I can do to keep doing weekends like Spielberg, and then how I end up is just the consequences of that.

Improvements with Campos

Having won the Spanish F4 crown with the team, 2025 marked a reunion between Tsolov and Campos, as he returned to the Spanish outfit for year three in F3.

It looks to have been a shrewd move by both parties, as they lead the Teams’ Standings with all three drivers having taken a victory following Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Mari Boya’s wins at Silverstone.

Tsolov says that this year has been a quick re-learning process, and now they are firing on all cylinders as we head into the business end of the calendar.

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“It's a learning process with the new car. I think I got on with it pretty well from the get-go, especially in testing. Obviously, luck hasn't been completely on our side, let's put it that way, which you need a lot in this Championship.

“We've been first, second, first and first in the last few rounds in quali, the closest anyone's been to Rafa. And I think is what we're looking to keep doing,

“There are a few keys, obviously, the environment I'm in with Red Bull is helping me and preparing me in a much more professional kind of way, so I know what I need to do in every situation, how to deal with every situation, how to give better feedback to the team.

“Then, with Campos, I have a good history. My engineer - we work really well together, and we only say the right stuff to each other and keep progressing. Everything's been clicking, and at this point, I would say we're quite high to the maximum potential we can reach.

“I had two years away from the team, and then it takes a while to get back in momentum, which is a really big key. The first one is always the more most difficult, with wins, with poles, with good results. So once you do it one time, then the second time is easier, the third time is even easier.”

Eyes on the prize

Heading to the final three rounds of the season, Tsolov faces an uphill, but not impossible fightback in the standings.

With TRIDENT’s Câmara still leading the way, the Brazilian has looked strong, but not uncatchable according to his rivals, Tsolov included.

The Bulgarian driver believes that upcoming circuits should suit him and Campos, however Qualifying will prove the difference-maker come the end of the year.

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“I think the next few tracks are quite good for me. Spa is a track I really love. I didn't get to race there last year, unfortunately, but it's a track I get on pretty well with.

“And then Budapest – I’ve got good history and always been quick there. Then Monza is just a casino, so you need a bit of luck there as well. So you never know. I think it's a good few tracks that we can keep the momentum going into the end of the year.

“I think right now, we have the consistency, but Qualifying is so important. It's pretty much everything because then race pace, we have it.”