Campos has completed its Formula 3 line-up, but the biggest questions sit one category higher. Ugo Ugochukwu needs his next step, Nikola Tsolov is waiting for a Formula 1 opportunity, and Noel León must consider whether staying is his best move. The Spanish team has two F2 cars — and several very different scenarios for filling them.

Campos closes its F3 line-up. Now attention turns to F2

Mattia Colnaghi’s arrival completes Campos Racing’s Formula 3 line-up for 2027. He will race alongside Salim Hanna and Ernesto Rivera, leaving Ugo Ugochukwu and Théophile Naël outside the team’s new three-car roster.

For Ugochukwu, this is more than a routine team change. The American won the F3 title and cannot return as reigning champion. Formula 2 is the logical next step, and Campos is an obvious possibility after their championship-winning season together. That makes a promotion plausible, but an F2 seat has yet to be announced.

The complication is that Campos’ two F2 cars currently belong to Nikola Tsolov and Noel León.

Nikola is the first domino

Tsolov’s future could shape the entire equation. The Bulgarian has been linked with a Formula 1 move for 2027, and Adrián Campos has publicly backed his promotion. His Red Bull support and F2 performances give those discussions substance.

For Campos, his departure would open a seat that Ugochukwu could fill: one driver moves towards F1 while the team promotes its F3 champion.

If the F1 door stays closed, however, the picture becomes more complicated. Another F2 season would be an option for Nikola provided he does not win the title, because the champion cannot return.

After Baku, Tsolov sits second with 200 points, seven behind Rafael Câmara. Campos therefore has to plan around a driver who could stay, graduate to F1, or become ineligible for another F2 campaign by winning the championship.

Campos also has a historic target of its own. After Baku, it leads the F2 Teams’ Championship with 333 points, 36 ahead of Invicta Racing. Winning would deliver its first teams’ title in the modern FIA Formula 2 Championship, which began in 2017. The distinction matters: the team already won the GP2 teams’ crown in 2008 as Barwa International Campos Team.

Ugochukwu needs a next step — but whose seat could he take?

Ugo Ugochukwu (2026). Photo: Parkasity / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

The American has a strong sporting case. He delivered the F3 drivers’ title for Campos with 159 points, finishing 14 ahead of Freddie Slater. A promotion within the same organisation would be attractive to both sides.

If Nikola leaves, the equation looks relatively straightforward. If he stays, signing Ugochukwu would put León’s seat in question.

There is also a third possibility: Ugo could move into F2 with another team. Success with Campos does not automatically tie him to its next available car. The conditions on offer and the identity of his teammate will matter too.

Ugochukwu was also in Baku with Campos, watching the Formula 2 action alongside his F3 teammate Théophile Naël, as shown by the championship’s official social media. His presence adds an intriguing detail to the discussion of a possible promotion, although it does not establish which F2 team he will join.

Will León stay — and will he want to?

Noel León carries weight in these discussions. After Baku, the Mexican is sixth on 133 points, a substantial contribution to Campos’ lead in the teams’ standings. He should not be treated simply as someone keeping a future seat warm.

Staying would give him a familiar environment and a chance to build on his experience in a second season. If Tsolov leaves, León could become the experienced reference point alongside a rookie such as Ugochukwu.

If he stays, what role will he accept?

Campos’ decision will involve more than outright speed. If the team retains León, it needs a clear understanding of how it will manage the relationship between its drivers.

After a season in which Nikola has been a leading title contender, the natural question is whether León would accept a similar internal balance again — especially if he starts his second year expecting to fight for the championship himself.

That raises another question for Campos: retain a fast, experienced driver with ambitions of his own, or choose a different pairing?

Who will make the first move?

Campos has reasons to want a strong, stable pairing. Ugochukwu has reasons to expect a promotion. León has reasons to seek a bigger role. Nikola is looking towards a seat outside Formula 2 altogether.

The completed F3 line-up is only the beginning. The bigger reshuffle could come in F2, where two seats have to accommodate the ambitions of a champion, an F1 hopeful and a driver unlikely to want another season in someone else’s shadow.

The first major decision around Nikola could unlock everything else. But Campos will also need to convince the other contenders that its garage offers the best next step for their careers.

Follow our Formula 2 news and analysis and read more about Nikola Tsolov’s possible Formula 1 practice debut.

Sources: Formula 2’s official Campos season preview and Campos Racing’s confirmed 2027 F3 line-up.