Does Formula 2 End in Baku?

Nikola Tsolov needs a top-5 finish in the Formula 2 standings to gather the 40 points required for a superlicence. The Bulgarian already has 25 points from his runner-up finish in Formula 3 in 2025, and fifth place in F2 would add another 20, taking his total to 45. Meanwhile the championship calendar could undergo a major change, and the situation around injured Isack Hadjar adds another unknown to Red Bull’s plans.

At first glance, Nikola Tsolov’s fight is for the Formula 2 title. In the bigger picture, though, there’s another threshold that could prove just as important – fifth place in the final standings.

That’s exactly what separates the Bulgarian from the points he needs for a full superlicence, and from a genuine chance of being considered for a Formula 1 seat.

Why Is Fifth Place in Formula 2 Enough for Nikola?

To obtain a superlicence, the FIA requires a minimum of 40 points, collected from a driver’s results in approved championships over a period of three seasons.

Nikola already has 25 points from his runner-up finish in Formula 3 in 2025. There, the top three are awarded 30, 25 and 20 points respectively.

In Formula 2, the points for the top six positions are:

So the maths is perfectly clear. Any finish from first to fifth gives Tsolov the total he needs. At sixth place, he’d be left on 35 points – five short of the required minimum.

Winning the championship or finishing in the top 3 would earn Nikola 40 points from Formula 2 alone. For the superlicence, though, the title isn’t mandatory. Thanks to his strong 2025 Formula 3 season, even fifth place in F2 is enough.

How Long Do Old Points Remain Valid?

Superlicence points don’t accumulate indefinitely. The FIA looks at results from the three calendar seasons that fall within the relevant period before the application.

When applying for a superlicence for the 2027 season, Nikola’s tally will include his results from 2024, 2025 and 2026. That means the 25 points from Formula 3 in 2025 are fully valid and can be combined with the points from his current Formula 2 season.

His result from 2022, when he became champion in the Spanish Formula 4 and earned 12 points, will no longer fall within this three-year window. It isn’t needed for the current calculation anyway.

Something else matters too: the more than 300km covered in a Racing Bulls car during the TPC test at Imola is a significant step towards a free-practice outing, but it doesn’t automatically add points towards the total of 40 needed for a full superlicence.

Formula 2 Won’t Follow Formula 1 to Imola

The uncertainty over the final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi has opened up the possibility that the Formula 1 season could end at a European circuit. Imola is among the leading candidates to host such a finale.

That doesn’t mean Formula 2 will travel along with the top championship, though.

According to information obtained by FormulaBG, should a Formula 1 race take place at Imola, Formula 2 will not be part of the programme. Organising an additional round for the support championship on such short notice would be considerably more complex, given the logistics, teams, tyres and personnel required.

Formula 1 has set a deadline of mid-September for a final decision on Qatar and Abu Dhabi. At this stage both races remain on the calendar, despite ongoing uncertainty over the situation in the region. This was also confirmed by Stefano Domenicali, who admitted that if those rounds fall through, the F1 season would have to end in Europe. Sky Sports

Baku Could Become a Finale With Two Feature Races

If the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds are dropped, the Formula 2 season will end in Baku.

According to information available to FormulaBG, the option being discussed is changing the format of the Azerbaijan weekend. Instead of the traditional sprint and feature race, Baku could host two feature races with a full points distribution.

Such a decision would increase the number of points drivers could earn in the final round, and would at least partly offset the loss of the two originally planned closing weekends.

In a standard round, the maximum haul is 39 points – 10 from the sprint, 25 from the feature race, and two each for pole position and fastest lap in the feature race. With two feature races, the points on offer would be greater, though the exact distribution depends on the format the FIA and Formula 2 eventually approve.

For Tsolov, that means Baku could become not just an important round, but a direct finale for both the title and the superlicence at once.

Hadjar’s Injury Adds Another Unknown

Added to the sporting and calendar picture is the situation around Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman will miss a third consecutive Formula 1 race because of a wrist injury sustained in practice. Red Bull’s official line is that his recovery is progressing well, but that he isn’t yet ready to return to the car. Reuters

According to information obtained by FormulaBG, however, the injury is more serious than initially thought. There’s no full clarity yet on when Hadjar will be able to race again, or whether he’ll fully regain the strength and mobility in his hand.

The parallel with Daniel Ricciardo here is unavoidable. In 2023, the Australian broke his hand at Zandvoort, missed five races, and opened the door for none other than Liam Lawson. Ricciardo returned, but the momentum was already gone, Lawson had gotten his shot, and the Australian’s career never returned to its previous trajectory. One injury didn’t end his story on its own, but it set off a chain of events that ultimately pushed Ricciardo out of Formula 1.

The risk for Hadjar is similar. The fact that a driver can move his hand or pour himself a glass of water doesn’t mean he’s ready to drive a car at over 300km/h. The load on the wrists under braking, over kerbs, and from constant steering corrections is nothing like everyday movements. In Formula 1, “almost recovered” effectively means “not yet ready.”

This doesn’t automatically free up a seat for Nikola Tsolov. Red Bull has Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Arvid Lindblad, and the Bulgarian first needs to finish the season and officially meet the superlicence requirements.

But Red Bull’s system doesn’t wait for anyone. Lawson has already once turned someone else’s injury into his own opportunity. If Hadjar’s absence drags on, every good performance from his stand-ins and every further step Tsolov takes will carry more weight. In this programme, an empty seat rarely stays empty for long.

Tsunoda and Lawson

Yuki Tsunoda practically torpedoed his own case for a permanent seat, going out in Q1 and finishing 17th. Getting a fresh chance in the Red Bull system and failing to get past the first part of qualifying is exactly the kind of performance that’s remembered longer than you’d like.

source – © Copyright: LAP.bg

Liam Lawson didn’t offer a convincing answer either. While Max Verstappen made it to sixth in qualifying and finished third in the race, the New Zealander went out in Q2 with the 14th time. Traffic and a grid penalty for changed components explain part of the picture, but they can’t hide the full gap. Compared to Verstappen, Lawson looked like a pale shadow, not like a driver ready to hold down the seat next to him for the long term.

That doesn’t automatically mean the door is opening for Nikola Tsolov. The Bulgarian first needs to finish the season and officially meet the superlicence requirements. But the performances of Tsunoda and Lawson show that Red Bull has plenty of options, without necessarily having an obvious answer.

Red Bull’s system doesn’t wait for anyone. Lawson has already once turned someone else’s injury into his own opportunity. If Hadjar’s absence continues and his stand-ins fail to convince, every further step Tsolov takes will carry more weight. In this programme, an empty seat rarely stays empty for long – the question is who will be ready enough when it opens up.

Three Seats Are Already Wobbling

Until recently, the big question around Nikola was where he could even fit into Red Bull’s crowded structure. On paper, there are no free seats. In reality, though, three of them are currently wobbling.

Hadjar has a serious injury with no clear timeline for a full recovery. Lawson got the Red Bull seat, but looked like a pale shadow of Verstappen at Monza. Tsunoda, meanwhile, practically killed his own case with an early Q1 exit.

That doesn’t mean one of these seats automatically belongs to Tsolov. It means something more important: the door that until recently looked locked is now hanging on three loose hinges.

So the first task remains the superlicence. If Nikola finishes in the top 5 of Formula 2, he’ll no longer be just the talent Red Bull is watching for the future. He’ll be the driver with the requirements met, ready to step into the car the moment the next “secure” seat suddenly opens up.