Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov has continued his standout form in FIA F3 by claiming his third pole position of the 2025 season during Qualifying for the British GP round at Silverstone. The result came just one week after he topped qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, only to be disqualified from the Feature Race win due to a post-race technical infraction. Despite the setback, the Bulgarian driver has shown strong resilience and determination, reasserting himself as a title contender in a closely-fought championship fight.
With title leader Rafael Câmara (Trident) and fellow Red Bull Junior Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport) qualifying third and fifth respectively, Tsolov’s pole could prove crucial in shaping the momentum of the season as it enters its final four rounds.
Tsolov unhappy with pole lap despite result
Although Tsolov topped the timesheets, he expressed disappointment in the lap that earned him pole position. Speaking during the post-qualifying press conference, he admitted that he had made several errors during his final run. Nevertheless, he recognised that his strong pace throughout the day had ultimately secured him the top spot.
“It is quite funny. I was not really impressed with my lap. So, I did not think it was fantastic, you know. I saw Rafa’s time on the second set, which I got safety mode in, so I could not do it, so then I wanted to really push hard, did a few mistakes, but overall I think we have had the pace since practice, so it was enough to do pole.”
A tangible reward for Qualifying excellence
This weekend, Tsolov received his third Aramco Pole Position Trophy, a newly introduced award for the 2025 F3 season. He acknowledged the significance of the recognition, noting that having something physical to show for his performance was a welcome addition to his growing collection.
“Yeah, it is good to get an award for pole. Thankfully, my first one was when we already started getting the award, so I should have three now. Yeah, it is nice. One more trophy at home to stay, so you can tell your friends about it and yeah, I am happy.”
Rebounding from Austrian GP disappointment
Following his disqualification in the 2025 Austrian F3 Feature Race, which denied him a potential win and valuable championship points, Tsolov stated that bouncing back at Silverstone provided much-needed emotional recovery. While he acknowledged the impact on his title chances, he remained optimistic about the rest of the season.
“Yeah, it feels good to bounce back and not be too affected from that, but yeah, obviously it was a tough couple of days. You know, I felt numb emotionally because I had such a high, and then it went down all at one go, so it was difficult, but, feels good to bounce back, and, like I have been saying, nothing is over, you know, one less round to go, but you know, still four rounds, so can still recover a few points.”
Aiming for the next step in career progression
While Spielberg may have ended in bitter disappointment for the Bulgarian driver, Nikola Tsolov acknowledged that his performances throughout the 2025 F3 season have continued on an upward trajectory. He believes this steady progression is essential in paving the way for his future in single-seater motorsport.
“Yeah, I think I have been improving and showing progress every round, and it is only been getting better, so this has been a key for me, obviously, thinking about the future as well, trying to be ready for the next step and perform on the level I need to be in case of a step-up.”
Despite the unfortunate conclusion to his 2025 F3 Austrian GP weekend, Tsolov emphasised the quality of his driving in Spielberg, where he delivered what he considered a flawless performance. Although the result did not reflect his efforts, he expressed a clear desire to replicate that same level of execution in future rounds.
“So, I am quite happy with myself, and honestly, in Spielberg, I do not think I did one mistake the whole weekend, so you do not get many of those, you know, so unfortunately, it was taken away, but I hope to repeat it again.”
A three-set strategy the right one for Qualifying success
With the Silverstone Circuit often producing unpredictable races, strategy plays a critical role in extracting the maximum from each session. This was evident during FIA F3 Qualifying at the 2025 British GP, where front-runners Nikola Tsolov and Rafael Câmara both used a three-set tyre strategy to secure strong grid positions.
When asked whether he had adopted the approach to stand out from the field, Tsolov dismissed the idea and clarified that the three-set format was the most effective. “No, I mean, it was a three-set Quali seemed to be the best option to be on.”
He revealed that he had identified the value of this method even before arriving at Silverstone and explained that such an approach has become routine at several venues on the calendar. Although he did not maximise one of his runs, he reaffirmed that there was nothing unusual about the plan.
“And I kind of knew it before coming into the week. And so it is yeah, one lap shooter, like Ugo [Ugochukwu] said, on each set. Yeah, unfortunately, I could not do my second set properly. So that put me off a little bit with references, etcetera. But yeah, just like in Bahrain, Barcelona, and a couple of other Qualis, we do three sets. So, nothing new in my approach.”
Focus remains on own performance
Although Tsolov and championship leader Rafael Câmara have shared all pole positions this season, the Bulgarian confirmed that his approach in qualifying remains unaffected by his rivals. He acknowledged that while it is important to beat direct competitors, his focus lies in his own execution and maintaining consistency over outright comparisons.
“Yeah, pretty much what Rafa [Câmara] said, you do your thing and then see where you end up finally, and then see where the other one ends up. It is important to be ahead, but I mean, consistency is the most important thing in the end, so yeah.”
Building momentum through consistency
When asked about the key to his recent run of strong qualifying performances, Nikola Tsolov identified a significant turning point in his season between the rounds in Barcelona and Monaco. He credited both a successful weekend in Monte Carlo and a technical breakthrough related to tyre warm-up procedures as pivotal to his improved form.
“Obviously, coming in Monaco, we had a good weekend there, good quality. And I think that just kind of set the rhythm. And then obviously, we found something on the warmup since last set in Barcelona until now, which has been helping us a lot.”
He explained that earlier in the season, the team had struggled with getting the tyres into the correct operating window. According to Tsolov, the tyres for the 2025 season behaved differently compared to the previous year, which required an adjustment in approach.
“Seems like we were not switching the tyres on properly. They felt quite sensitive comparing to last year. So yeah, for me, this is the thing.”
Now firmly established at the front of the grid, Tsolov believes that maintaining momentum becomes more manageable once the initial breakthrough is made.
“Obviously, you do it once and then it just gets easier, or you get better at it. So, I look at it that way that once you are up there, it is easier to keep the momentum than trying to chase for your first pole position.”
Tsolov hoping for a clear race in constant conditions
Despite delivering a strong F3 Qualifying performance, Nikola Tsolov must now navigate several inherent challenges as he aims to maximise his points haul across the 2025 British GP weekend. Chief among these is the threat of changing weather, a common factor at Silverstone. When responding to a question from Pit Debrief, Tsolov discussed his weather preferences for the weekend ahead.
“I do not really mind too much. I mean, in the Sprint, probably looking at our race pace would be better to be dry, just because when it is full wet, you cannot really see anything. So making up places is pretty difficult. For example, Australia, there was not many overtakes, not many racing laps as well.”
He further highlighted the challenges of rapidly changing weather, referencing previous experiences where alternating wet and dry conditions turned races into a matter of chance rather than skill or strategy.
“But yeah, and then if it is I would rather have one condition or the other, because the last two years it has been wet, dry, wet, dry. So it is kind of a gamble. And, you know, with luck, you never know. So I would rather it just be a clean race in one of the two conditions.”
Tyre management critical at high-speed circuit
While excessively wet weather may impair visibility, excessively hot conditions could lead to increased tyre degradation—both of which present complications for race management. When questioned about tyre wear by Pit Debrief, Nikola Tsolov acknowledged that the Silverstone layout, with its abundance of high-speed corners, creates a particularly demanding environment for tyre preservation.
Reflecting on previous experience at the circuit, Tsolov explained that despite expecting minimal degradation last year, reality proved far more punishing.
“Yeah, it will be tough. I remember last year expecting small deg, you know, the Sprint Race was dry. So yeah, we could do some knowledge there and it was much more than expected and started to get tough in the end of the race. So, it should be similar to Austria or a tiny bit less. Obviously, with the high-speed corners, you kind of grain the tyres a little bit more than usual.”
Given the balance between maintaining tyre life and remaining competitive, Tsolov anticipates a challenging task across the Feature Race. However, he hopes the Sprint Race will remain dry in order to gather useful data.
“So yeah, it will be tough to save because you still need to push them. I mean, especially Maggots and Becketts, if you get a bad exit, you could get passed. So, it will be tricky, but hopefully the Sprint Race will be dry to have some learning.”
Tsolov not worried about track limits at Silverstone
While changing weather and tyre degradation will pose considerable challenges over the 2025 British GP weekend, track limits remain another factor that could influence the final outcome. The subject has been a frequent talking point across all three categories competing at Silverstone, with several drivers struggling to stay within the white lines during practice and qualifying.
However, in response to a question from Pit Debrief, Nikola Tsolov downplayed concerns about track limits being a major issue. He noted that he had not received any warnings during the session and emphasised that only repeated mistakes would likely result in penalties. He did, nonetheless, identify Turn 9 as a corner where drivers are most at risk of exceeding track limits.
“I did not struggle too much with the track limit penalties. I actually did not even do one the whole day. Yeah, it is obviously quite easy to go off mostly in turn nine if you try to push to the limit. So it is one place, but I think you know when you are off.”
No penalties expected without repeated errors
He added that the track surface and the design of the kerbs made it clear when a driver exceeded the limit, pointing to the revised track limit enforcement system introduced the previous season.
“The thing is, you start bottoming on the kerb and you cannot really not do a track limit and that is the issue. But I think since last year where they put this new system with the white lines and stuff, you know when you do a track limit, so you are either in the gravel or you are out of track and I think it is quite useful.”
Based on these factors, Tsolov concluded that penalties for track limits are unlikely unless a driver repeatedly runs wide or is forced off track multiple times.
“I mean, I would not expect to see penalties in the race due to track limits, except if you just go off a lot of times or get pushed off a lot of times.”
Experience at Silverstone a key advantage
Tsolov also pointed to his familiarity with the circuit as a key reason for his confidence in managing track limits. Having competed at Silverstone for two seasons prior, he believes it is a circuit that allows drivers to stay within bounds if they exercise proper judgement.
“Yeah, I have two years of racing here, so I knew the track from before and I knew where you can go off and stuff like that, but I do not think it is one of them tracks that you get penalties for it or there is so much track limits. It is not like Red Bull Ring as it used to be, a lot of going off and stuff like that. So yeah, I think it should be generally clean with track limits and definitely not going to be a big topic this weekend.”
A crucial weekend for the title fight
Tsolov will line up from pole position in Sunday’s F3 Feature Race at the 2025 British GP and will start further down the order in Saturday’s Sprint, owing to the reverse grid rules. With just four rounds remaining in the 2025 FIA F3 season, every point and every position gained is critical. Despite recent setbacks, Tsolov’s growing confidence, consistent pace, and measured approach indicate that he remains firmly in contention for the championship title.
