Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
There will be two more additions to the Red Bull Junior Team in 2025, with Niklas Schaufler and Nikola Tsolov joining its ranks.
Tsolov announced his departure from the rival Alpine Academy earlier this week, then was confirmed as switching to Campos Racing for his third season in FIA Formula 3 next year.
The 17-year-old Bulgarian won the 2022 Spanish Formula 4 title as a single-seater rookie, taking the crown with 13 victories from 21 races. He has raced for Global Racing Service in Eurocup-3 and ART Grand Prix in the F3 since then.
His seven Eurocup-3 outings so far have resulted in two poles and three podiums, and in F3 he scored six points as a rookie then improved to 75 this season. Although he won three times, in the Monaco and Red Bull Ring sprint races and the Hungaroring feature race, he only scoreds in four other races to end up 11th in the standings.
Tsolov became an afilliate of the Alpine Academy in March 2022, then became a full member 11 months later. Shortly before being signing by them, his career came under the guidance of the A14 Management company launched by Fernando Alonso.
Formula Scout has learned that Campos played a crucial role in Tsolov’s new F1 allegiance. The Spanish outfit was keen to have Tsolov in its 2025 FIA F3 line-up as soon as the 2024 season ended, and ran him in post-season tests in Spain where he topped multiple sessions.
During its process of signing him, and when it became clear the Bulgarian would be without Alpine’s backing in 2025, Campos began communications with Red Bull and worked to ensure Tsolov got a contract with them too. His car will run with a full Red Bull livery in 2025.
In mid-September, Red Bull also announced Austrian karter Schaufler would become one of its juniors next year.
On OK Junior karts he won the Italian championship and South Garda Winter Cup and was WSK Champions Cup runner-up in 2023, then this year he won the Champions Cup and WSK Super Master Series before coming second in the Champions of the Future series. Schaufler turns 15 next January, and Red Bull will place him in a F4 programme for 2025.
Red Bull signed two karters to its junior team in August, then another two in September along with two drivers already in F4.