Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov topped the timings to secure his maiden F3 pole-position during Qualifying at the F3 Monaco GP. Heading into Sunday, Tsolov has plenty at stake as he looks to break another record and become the driver with the most wins in the series’ history. In his third season, the Bulgarian driver’s experience around the principality truly shone through his pole lap—putting him five-tenths ahead of Rodin’s Roman Biliński.
Tsolov has had a decent start to his 2025 campaign. With a Sprint Race win and only one point-less race so far, the Bulgarian driver is sits P6 in the Driver Standings. During the Post-Qualifying Press Conference, Tsolov spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets about his performance and repeated success around the streets of Monaco.
Repeated success around Monaco
It is not the first time Tsolov has found success during a Monaco GP. Building on his maiden win during the Monaco Sprint Race last year, Tsolov would hope to bring home the win and big points on Sunday. When asked what makes Monaco bring out his best performances, Tsolov happily acknowledged at the observation.
“That’s a good question. To be honest, I’ve always felt comfortable around the track, even my first year here. I just didn’t put it together.”
The Campos driver explained that the circuit’s intense, high-focus nature helps him stay sharp—something he sees as key to his success.
“But I think the fact that it’s really difficult and it requires a lot of focus, I think this gets me in the zone. I don’t have to think during my lap, I just drive. Which I think is the key for me and it’s what makes me go quick.”
Mindset “crucial” to delivering success during Qualifying
The 18 year-old said it was crucial for him to perform well during Qualifying. Crediting his success to a confident and positive mindset, Tsolov explained it was key to enjoying the session rather than overthinking.
Tsolov said: “Yeah, for me, it was quite crucial to do well here. Obviously, [Qualifying] is the most important thing and after [Free Practice], I had the confidence that I was quick. So I just tried not to overthink it and go into it and enjoy it.”
“I think this has been the main key for me that I go with the mindset to enjoy it. You just need the track and nothing else.”
Split qualifying format offers no clear advantage or disadvantage
In response to a question asked by Pit Debrief about if the split qualifying format gives the first group an upper hand, Tsolov denied this, agreeing with Biliński and teammate Mari Boya. Echoing similar thoughts to Boya, both drivers believed there were no clear advantages or disadvantages for either groups.
“Yeah, I think I agree with Mari [Boya]. To be honest, with 30 cars yesterday, it was a bit of a mess and separating groups is always much better. We’ve also seen pole being taken in Group A and Group B over the years.”
As 30 drivers make up the F3 grid, a full qualifying session would undeniably be too chaotic. Noting that pole has come from both Group A and B over the years, Tsolov further explained that track conditions were “pretty similar” for both groups.
“Obviously, now it’s two for Group A, but I think the track is pretty similar and I think it’s just fair.”
Psychological games during a Monaco Qualifying
Unlike other weekends, the Qualifying format differs in Monaco. As drivers are split into two groups, a wait for the final results seem like eternity for drivers in Group A. Following the conclusion of Qualifying, Tsolov explained he thought about whether being in the first or second group is easier. But ultimately, the Bulgarian driver believed that the right mindset would make no difference.
“I was actually thinking that after [Qualifying] going back to the paddock, what would be easier to be in the first or second group because then you have a lap time to actually chase. But I think if you’re in the right mindset, there shouldn’t make any difference. There shouldn’t be any.”
Reflecting on his performance last year, Tsolov said that being in the second group did not make a difference as drivers are too focused on delivering fast-laps to be worrying about anything else.
“So last year I was in the second group and honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about chasing lap time. You’re just so focused, you forget about it. So I would say as long as you’re with the right approach, it’s all good.”
Campos clear of competitors in Group A
As Tsolov led a Campos 1-2 in Group A, Boya followed closely behind. Comfortably out infront, the Bulgarian driver’s pole lap put a decent margin between him and Biliński in P2. Tsolov praised the team for their strong car setup and adjustments between each session. Acknowledging Boya’s speed, the 18 year-old welcomed the friendly competition—whose pace pushed him to deliver better laps.
“Yeah, it’s honestly great. I think the team has done a really good job on making the car and adjustments right from [Free Practice] to [Qualifying].”
“And then as well, I knew already from last year that Mari [Boya] is really quick around this track, so he was pushing me to do well and he was pushing me to do a good lap and I think I was doing the same to him.”
“So we just kind of pushed each other really far and that’s probably what got us so quick in the end.”, Tsolov said.
“Impatient” whilst awaiting final results
Following the completion of his session, Tsolov admitted feeling “impatient”. The Bulgarian admitted he felt momentarily defeated as he shifted his focus to Sunday after he was “convinced” that others were going faster.
“I mean, I was quite impatient, I have to say. It was more difficult than I thought, but after seeing their first push I was kind of convinced they’re going to go faster than me.”
“So I just accepted it and immediately started thinking on Sunday how to get them on the start. But then I remembered that in my session I remembered not improving a lot and not feeling more grip through the lap, so the first push was already quite strong in terms of grip.”
However, a red flag caused by PREMA’s Brando Badoer played in favour of Tsolov as the wait continued. The Campos driver felt that MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz had a strong chance of denying him pole. But when Tramnitz’s time dropped, Tsolov explained they celebrated prematurely overall happy with his performance.
“So I thought maybe I still have a chance and then with the red flag of course I was pretty happy. And then it was just sitting and waiting, waiting to see.”
“I think [Tim] Tramnitz had a good opportunity, but as soon as we saw that Sector 2 in his last lap was really far off, we started celebrating a bit too early. But yeah, I’m happy we got it.”
Precision key to success out infront but how does the rhythm change in terms of defending on a track like Monaco
When asked by Pit Debrief about their approach to defending around Monte Carlo, Tsolov acknowledged that overtaking is tough but recalled some moves of his own during last year’s Feature Race. With high tyre degradation expected, the Bulgarian driver believes that drivers will be able to make up places.
“Yeah, for sure. I think obviously it’s hard to pass around here, but I did a few moves last year in the Feature Race.”
“So if people are [suffering from tyre degradation] around you, you can still make up one or two places. Yeah, let’s see tomorrow. I expect the deg to be high in my opinion.”
After suffering from minor tyre degradation and graining during Qualifying today, Tsolov highlighted that tyre preservation will serve as key factor heading into the Sprint Race tomorrow.
“As Mari [Boya] said, even with the cool laps, we felt the tyre degrading and even having some graining in the end of [Qualifying].”
“So it’s going to be a little bit about tyre saving and then seeing how it plays out in the end.”
