BAKU, Azerbaijan — Red Bull has not made up its mind on whether to promote promising rookie Isack Hadjar into the role of Max Verstappen‘s teammate for 2026, multiple sources have told ESPN.
A report in German motorsport magazine, Auto Motor und Sport, earlier this week suggested Hadjar’s promotion from junior team Racing Bulls was already a done deal. The same report suggested Red Bull junior and Formula 2 rookie Arvid Lindblad, 18, will replace him, meaning Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are effectively competing for the remaining Racing Bulls seat for 2026.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the company’s thinking on the company’s two driver line-ups have downplayed that to ESPN, saying multiple scenarios are still up in the air and that nothing is set in stone.
Sources have cited the Austin-Mexico City double header at the end of October as the kind of time Red Bull might make a call. Hadjar, who is still believed to be favourite to be Verstappen’s teammate next year, downplayed the story in Baku ahead of Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“I have an idea, but I don’t know,” Hadjar said. “I don’t care [about reports], I really don’t care. I had like five days off at home. I had other things to do than scrolling on Instagram.”
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, team boss Laurent Mekies said: “If you look at it from Red Bull’s point of view, it’s hard to see why we would be in a hurry to make this decision.”
The role of Verstappen’s teammate is seen as a poisoned chalice in Formula 1 these days. The four-time world champion has had a succession of teammates who have flamed out in various ways. After replacing Sergio Pérez this season, Liam Lawson was demoted back to the junior team after just two races, but replacement Yuki Tsunoda has fared little better since.
Before Perez, the company saw Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon struggle alongside the Dutchman — both have gone on to establish themselves at rival teams since.
Sources have cited this history as part of the reason no decision has been made yet.
New boss Mekies, who worked with Tsunoda and Lawson last year as Racing Bulls team principal and with Hadjar until July, when he replaced Christian Horner, is understood to be apprehensive about repeating past mistakes with young talent.
That does not only apply to Hadjar — sources say there is skepticism within the company about whether highly-rated Lindblad should move straight up to F1 without another year of Formula 2. Lindblad is currently seventh in his rookie F2 season.
Red Bull is relaxed about the timeline of its decision. All of its drivers are contracted centrally to the company — which has made promotion and relegation between teams so simple in the past — and the majority of seats for 2026 elsewhere are tied up.
Alpine are the only team who have a seat to fill for next season.
The French team has still not decided whether to continue with Franco Colapinto and there might be an open door for either Lawson or Tsunoda should either of them be pushed out of the Red Bull orbit next year.
When asked about that possibility on Thursday, Lawson sounded skeptical. “The main thing for us is to be in Formula 1, so we’re focused on securing a seat. And honestly, that’s my goal at the moment,” the New Zealander said on his future.
“In terms of other teams, I think pretty much everyone’s nearly either locked in or has a pretty good idea of what they’re doing next year anyway. So right now, it’s mostly talks with Red Bull and trying to secure a seat where I’m at the moment.
“Right now, I think it’s at a point where I think most of [the other opportunities] are pretty much gone, I would say.”
