Red Bull will be increasingly confident of keeping Max Verstappen for the 2026 season. But his future beyond that is still in doubt.
Verstappen has had two main suitors in the event that he leaves Red Bull – Mercedes and Aston Martin. Neither of those teams look like feasible destinations for next year.
Mercedes are about to hand George Russell a new contract after his Canadian Grand Prix win. That indicates that they don’t see Verstappen as a realistic short-term target.
And the latest murmurs are that Verstappen ‘definitely’ won’t join Aston Martin. There’s excitement about their prospects following the regulation changes, but they still need to justify it on track.
Waiting is perhaps the most sensible approach. Verstappen can assess how Red Bull perform with their first-ever independent power unit, and see how their rivals stack up in a very different formula too.
Helmut Marko views Arvid Lindblad as Max Verstappen’s ‘successor’ at Red Bull
The good news for Red Bull, amid the lingering uncertainty over Verstappen, is that their talent pipeline is delivering again. The 2021 move for Sergio Perez, a break with tradition, indicated a lack of confidence in their internal options.
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have both struggled after being promoted from within. But there’s more excitement about the next drivers off the conveyor belt.
The first is Isack Hadjar, who’s arguably been F1’s standout rookie in 2025. Hadjar has scored 21 of Racing Bulls’ 28 points and sits inside the top 10 in the championship – no driver has finished that high for the de facto junior team since Sebastian Vettel in 2008.
However, according to Motorsport NL, motorsport advisor Helmut Marko sees Arvid Lindblad as the true ‘successor’ to Verstappen. He foresees the teenager partnering the multiple world champion one day and eventually taking over as Red Bull’s number one driver.
Marko is ‘very charmed’ by Lindblad, who currently sits third in the F2 standings – just eight points off leader Alex Dunne. He picked up his second victory of the season in the Barcelona Feature Race.
Why Liam Lawson is set to keep his F1 seat for 2026 despite Arvid Lindblad rise
Red Bull are lining up Lindblad for FP1 sessions later this year. He successfully secured a superlicence before his 18th birthday, with the FIA granting special dispensation.
It was recently reported that Lindblad will join Racing Bulls for 2026. But rather than replacing the underperforming Liam Lawson, he’ll race alongside him.
With Yuki Tsunoda underdelivering and out of contract, Hadjar is expected to move up to the top team. Red Bull don’t necessarily have any other young drivers who are F1 ready, so Lawson should be safe by default.
Lindblad finished fourth in Formula 3 last season and won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship over the winter.
