Red Bull have reportedly made an informal decision about their 2026 driver line-ups. They are one of the few teams without contracts in place for next year.
While he’s signed a deal until 2028, Max Verstappen’s contract contains an exit clause. It would of course be seismic if he left, but there’s no firm indication that will happen.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda is approaching the end of his deal and his future hangs in the balance. Since replacing Liam Lawson at the top team, he hasn’t delivered.
Tsunoda has scored just seven points in as many races, and while this represents a slight upgrade on Lawson, it’s still below expectations. The New Zealander himself has struggled to recover from the historic blow of being dropped after two races and sits 17th in the championship.
By contrast, Isack Hadjar is flying. He scored an outstanding 16 points across the recent triple-header to climb to ninth in the championship, strengthening his status as one of the year’s standout drivers.
Red Bull expected to retain Liam Lawson and drop Yuki Tsunoda for 2026
According to a report from Auto Motor und Sport, ‘the driver pairings are already taking shape’ at Red Bull next year. They are of course in a unique position with two interlinked teams.
As it stands, the plan is to promote Hadjar from Racing Bulls to partner Verstappen. This would come at the expense of Tsunoda, who leaves the team entirely.
Honda, who back Tsunoda, are parting with Red Bull at the end of the year and building engines for Aston Martin instead. On performance alone, they feel he hasn’t done enough to stay within the programme.
Surprisingly, though, Lawson could hold onto his spot. Rookie Hadjar has beaten him in 12 out of 13 competitive sessions, but clearly Christian Horner and Helmut Marko still have some faith in him.
The fourth and final place will go to F2 high-flyer Arvid Lindblad, who’s just been granted a superlicence by the FIA before his 18th birthday. The Briton will naturally put both Lawson and Hadjar under pressure, such is the culture at Red Bull.
Liam Lawson is becoming another Pierre Gasly at Red Bull
The report adds that only Verstappen leaving would ‘complicate’ matters at Milton Keynes. But ‘no one’ at the team dares to consider that possibility.
Even with more than half the season remaining, they aren’t expecting a sudden drop-off or surge from any of their drivers in their roster, the kind that could force a rethink.
There had been talk in the paddock that Lawson could lose his seat mid-season, so it would certainly be a shock to see him on the grid next year. He’s arguably been one of the poorest drivers in F1 in 2025.
The consensus is that Lawson won’t return to Red Bull after his disastrous stint. There’s perhaps little reason to keep him around on that basis, but the team must feel that Lindblad is the only junior who’s ready for F1.
Should he continue in the seat without any real promotion prospects, he risks becoming the next Pierre Gasly, who stayed for another two and a half years after being dumped from the marquee team.
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