Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has dismissed speculation linking Nikola Tsolov with a full-time race seat for the 2027 Formula 1 season, insisting the team has not even discussed such a possibility internally.
The Faenza-based outfit has enjoyed a positive spell despite some inconsistency in results. In recent races, both Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad scored points in Monaco and Barcelona, lifting Racing Bulls to 41 points ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. With both drivers showing encouraging progress, rumours of a potential lineup change for 2027 inevitably attracted attention as the team arrived at the Red Bull Ring.
Alan Permane responds to Nikola Tsolov speculation
Nikola Tsolov currently sits second in the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship and has been part of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2024. Despite his impressive performances, the Bulgarian has yet to make his Formula 1 weekend debut in an official free practice session. Recent reports suggested he could be in line to replace one of Racing Bulls’ current drivers in the near future.
Speaking after Friday’s practice sessions in Austria, Alan Permane firmly rejected those claims.
“We haven’t discussed it internally at all. Of course, Nikola Tsolov is part of our junior driver programme and he’s doing a fantastic job in Formula 2. This is only the eighth race of the season, we’ve only just entered the second third of the championship, so it’s still very, very early and we haven’t had any discussions. I don’t know where this rumour came from, but it certainly didn’t come from us.”
Attention remains on the Austrian Grand Prix
During the opening free practice session, Racing Bulls gave Ayumu Iwasa the opportunity to replace Liam Lawson as part of the FIA’s mandatory rookie driver programme. Alan Permane praised the Japanese driver for the valuable contribution he made throughout FP1.
Ayumu Iwasa finished fifteenth while completing several aerodynamic evaluation runs that provided useful data for the engineering team. The information gathered was then applied to both Liam Lawson’s and Arvid Lindblad’s cars ahead of FP2.
Summarising Friday’s work, Alan Permane said:
“It was a good day. Starting with FP1, we had Ayumu Iwasa in the car instead of Liam Lawson. He did a great job for us. We carried out several aerodynamic investigations, learned some useful things and transferred those findings to both cars for FP2.”
He also revealed that both of Racing Bulls’ race drivers were satisfied with the initial balance of the car.
“Both race drivers are happy. The first laps were encouraging and the balance was reasonably good. We simply worked through our programme. If there’s one area we can improve, it’s braking. That’s where the drivers believe the car’s main weakness lies, so that’s what we’ll focus on.”
Confidence growing inside Racing Bulls
Alan Permane concluded by expressing optimism about the progress made since the previous round in Barcelona.
“We’re much happier than we were last weekend. The car is certainly working much better over a single lap, and it’s also stronger on the long runs than it was in Barcelona. I still think we’ve got a bit more work to do, but we’re definitely in a much better place.”
While speculation surrounding Nikola Tsolov’s future continues to circulate, Racing Bulls’ priority remains extracting more performance from its current package and continuing the development of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad as the team looks to strengthen its position in the Formula 1 midfield.
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