Alpine F1 junior Nikola Tsolov will continue with ART in FIA F3 in 2024 as he completes not only the team’s line-up but also the whole grid.
Nikola Tsolov will continue with ART Grand Prix this year, completing the 2024 Formula 3 grid. The Bulgarian driver will be racing in his second season in the Championship with the French outfit. Tsolov finished his rookie campaign 22nd in the Drivers’ Standings, earning two points finishes in the second half of the season.
Prior to joining Formula 3, the 17-year-old was victorious in Spanish F4, winning the 2022 Championship with a dominant campaign. He accumulated a record 400 points, taking 13 race wins and a further five podium finishes en route to the title. Ahead of his second F3 campaign, Tsolov said he was eager to get started in 2024 having had a learning year to get acquainted with the Formula 3 machinery at his disposal.
“I feel very much at home at ART Grand Prix, which is one of the greatest teams ever, so it’s a pleasure to continue with them for a second year in F3,” said Tsolov. “I know the team, the circuits, the procedures and, apart from the tyres, I won’t have to learn anything new. Winter testing showed that we were consistently at the top of the timesheets, and the main target will be to be at the front at every race weekend.”
Team Principal Sébastien Philippe added that the team had seen Tsolov improve over the course of 2023 and were excited to see how he would do this time around. “Niko has had to take a giant step forward coming from Spanish F4 and, despite the difficulties faced by the team in 2023, his determination and focus have only strengthened. The raw results haven’t been there, but we’ve seen Niko’s formidable talent grow throughout the season and the entire team is looking forward to getting off to a good start in 2024 so we can deliver results together in line with our ambitions and our work.”
2024 F3 grid –
Prema: Dino Beganovic, Arvid Lindbald, Gabriele Mini
Trident: Leonardo Fornaroli, Sami Meguetounif, Santiago Ramos
Campos Racing: Oliver Goethe, Mari Boya, Sebastian Montoya
Jenzer Motorsport: Charlie Wurz, Max Esteron, Matias Zagazeta
Hitech GP: Luke Browning, Martinius Stenshorne, Cian Shields
ART Grand Prix: Laurens van Hoepen, Christian Mansell, Nikola Tsolov
Van Amersfoort Racing: Tommy Smith, Noel Leon, Sophia Floersch
MP Motorsport: Tim Tramnitz, Kacper Sztuka, Alex Dunne
PHM AIX Racing: Joshua Dufek, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Nikita Bedrin
Rodin Motorsport: Callum Voisin, Joseph Loake, Piotr Wisnicki
[Note: The story is as per press release]