Red Bull has delayed deciding who will occupy its three remaining 2026 Formula 1 seats across its two teams, with only Max Verstappen's seat nailed down.
So who should be his Red Bull team-mate next year? Is the favourite Isack Hadjar the obvious pick for good reason, or does Yuki Tsunoda deserve another year?
And what would a Hadjar promotion mean for the Racing Bulls line-up? Here's what our team think of Red Bull's driver dilemma.
Swap Hadjar and Tsunoda, drop Lawson
Ben Anderson
If Red Bull hasn't decided already in private, I think it should promote Hadjar to the main team and demote Tsunoda to the B-team for 2026.
I suspect a big part of the reason Tsunoda got the nod after Lawson's brief stint at Red Bull began so badly is because of Honda patronage - and unless Honda is prepared to use some of that new Lawrence Stroll Aston Martin cash to keep Tsunoda in place, I can't see him having a Red Bull future.
Certainly, his performances haven't been good enough to keep him on regardless of commercial considerations.
Because of how badly Red Bull treated Lawson, we only got to see Hadjar go up against Tsunoda twice - but the very fact Hadjar outqualified Tsunoda second time out in China, and has gone on to be F1 2025's most consistently impressive rookie, suggests he's potentially the most talented of the non-Verstappen drivers Red Bull has at its disposal - with headroom to grow too.
Is Tsunoda going to suddenly unlock something over the winter to show he can be a proper support act to Verstappen? I don't see it, and I don't think we've seen enough glimpses this year either.
So it's Tsunoda vs Lawson to benchmark Lindblad, or whoever Red Bull next chooses to promote to F1. Probably Tsunoda wins that contest, because of his greater experience as much as anything - though it's been disappointing to see him moving in the braking zones recently and looking a bit desperate.
But overall, I'd still rate him a smidge ahead of Lawson.
A catalogue of errors has led it here
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Red Bull is in this situation because of the fundamental incuriosity it showed - under (partly) previous leadership - for trying to figure out the reality of its driver situation last year.
It was negligent not to pursue Carlos Sainz, not just because of the potential performance upgrade but because Red Bull would have learned in any outcome; but Red Bull was not interested in learning, so it gave Sergio Perez an indefensible contract extension, then proceeded to navigate its way out of it in a somehow even worse way.
Whatever it does from here, I'm honestly more interested in the processes that led to it, in seeing proof that Red Bull isn't just trying to skate by on the genius of its lead driver, whose continued commitment it just cannot take for granted.
Ideally, you would have plugged in a free agent with a proven track record with another team or two at some point. Obviously that option is long gone, and all the in-house solutions are less than ideal. I feel less good about throwing Hadjar in at the deep end like this than I would have about even giving, say, Valtteri Bottas a one-year deal.
But since Red Bull can't just field one Red Bull car and three Racing Bulls, it probably has to be Hadjar as Verstappen's team-mate. I'd then promote Lindblad on the strength of his recent FP1, and probably pair him up with Lawson rather than Tsunoda, just because Lawson feels more untapped.
Hopefully for Red Bull, the 2026 regulations will redress whatever is going on - or at least give it some clear answers as to why one of its premium seats is such a poisoned chalice.
One last chance for its strategy
Scott Mitchell-Malm
Collectively, Hadjar and Lindblad might be the last chance for Red Bull before it accepts that it cannot operate its junior team the way it seems to have historically.
There's too much competition fishing in the talent pool for Red Bull to be so scattergun, so reactive, and so short-term about how it deals with its F1 drivers. Christian Horner may have played a part in that but Helmut Marko is still there and is as knee-jerk as they come.
There was a time when Red Bull could afford to have more misses than hits with the drivers it put in F1. It had the pre-eminent junior programme, four seats available, Sebastian Vettel and then Max Verstappen as its leading light. For 15+ years, Red Bull's had superstars papering over the cracks – with those world championships being the end that justified the means.
Clearly that isn't the case anymore. Being a one-man band has too many downsides and whether it's because drivers who aren't good enough ended up getting F1 seats, or drivers who were good enough were cast aside for different reasons, the way Red Bull works or has worked for so long can't sustain two F1 line-ups.
Red Bull needs to end the turnover and then see where that leaves its teams. Promote Hadjar, promote Lindblad, let Racing Bulls decide which of Lawson or Tsunoda would work best. Set that in stone for two years.
If it goes well, then maybe that means the rot has been stopped. If it doesn't, it's time to accept that the two teams can't be filled by four of Red Bull's own. And that it's maybe time for a 1+1 strategy – one Red Bull junior, one high-quality talent signed from wherever works best – in the senior team until such time (if ever) there are genuinely two A-list drivers from the Red Bull pool available again.
Give Lawson another go
Gary Anderson
Red Bull has made a rod for its own back with its approach to drivers. It has two teams, with Racing Bulls existing to bring on young drivers, but lately becoming more of a retirement home. Daniel Ricciardo going back there was an example of that.
If you don't perform instantly when you step up to the mothership and get sent back to the B-team, is there ever going to be a second chance? I very much doubt it. Remember Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Lawson? They all suffered from being promoted too early.
Personally, I would have given Lawson more time, as I'm sure he would have performed at a high level more consistently than Tsunoda. Yet Tsunoda has been given many more races to find his feet.
For the future, Hadjar has shown his pure speed on many occasions, but the step up required to compete at the level Red Bull expects from its drivers is not easy. Weekend after weekend, you will be measured against Verstappen, who never seems to have a bad day. If the car is capable, then Max will be in there fighting for pole positions and wins, so you need to be very, very thick-skinned to be Max's team-mate. Is Hadjar ready for that?
I don't think he is at that stage in his career yet and a second season driving for Racing Bull's wouldn't hurt him. It would allow him to reduce his mistakes without the pressure of being compared to Verstappen.
Because of that, I would be offering Lawson a second chance at Red Bull. He went through a confidence-sapping experience at the beginning of 2025 when Red Bull was in turmoil for various reasons and knows the pressure that comes from driving for a big team with winning expectations. The two races he got didn't go smoothly, and another chance would give him a fair shot.
As for Racing Bulls, that would leave Hadjar there for another year to see if he can be a team leader when these new regulations are introduced. Team him up with either Lindblad or Alex Dunne if he can get the necessary superlicence points. Both are at similar stage in their careers and would get Racing Bulls back to being a driver training team.
A long-term fix is needed
Edd Straw
It's embarrassing that Red Bull continues to find itself in trouble when it comes to its F1 driver line-up. Yes, it's difficult to find someone who can do the job to slot in alongside Verstappen, but it continues to be an exercise in dice rolling that reflects poorly on its decision-making and strategy.
Arvid Lindblad is regarded as its next cab off the rank and if Red Bull is genuinely confident in his ability, and there definitely is potential there, it's logical to slot him in at Racing Bulls. What it must avoid is backing itself into a corner where, if he does succeed, a premature promotion follows.
Red Bull is very limited in its choices for next year, but it must make the selection that is least likely to result in a repeat of this situation in 12 months. That points to promoting Hadjar, because Tsunoda evidently hasn't managed to convince the team that he is the driver for the job, even if he has at least managed to muddy the waters and push back the decision.
That's still too early for Hadjar, but with fresh regulations representing a new start, moving him up with the intention of giving him a least two years makes the best of a self-inflicted bad situation. Then, let Racing Bulls management choose whichever of Tsunoda or Lawson it believes will do the best job in terms of points and helping Lindblad develop.
What Red Bull must do is get its wider driver development conveyor belt working more effectively. For years, it's been stuck in a cycle of reacting to problems without ever getting the situation under control. Doing this is far more important than how it chooses to play its current weak hand.
Tsunoda deserves a second chance
Jack Benyon
The same question is always true in this Red Bull situation: how do you know the next dude is going to be any better?
Tsunoda hasn't been good enough - that's abundantly clear - but he didn't get a full pre-season and was spurned enough times before finally getting the seat in the first place that I have a feeling of sympathy for him.
If Red Bull has seen enough in the data that Tsunoda is not good enough - fair enough. But how many 'Hadjars' has it promoted way too soon? And on top of any existing 'Red Bull second driver' pressures, there's now a new ruleset to add into the mix.
I'd give Tsunoda the proper pre-season I feel he's earned and let Hadjar learn the new 2026 cars in a lower-pressure environment, and reassess the two mid-season.
Dropping Lawson after two races has got to be proof positive he's not good enough and Hadjar's looked better straight off - plus I don't get the feeling Lawson has done enough to show he's warm and cuddly enough to be the friendly benchmark team-mate Red Bull/Racing Bulls likes to have. He's the clear weak link in the chain for me.
I don't seem to have quite as much faith as Red Bull that Lindblad is a future megastar, but I'd rather find that out than give one of the others a stay of execution that will, ultimately, 100% end in an execution sooner or later.
So, Verstappen and Tsunoda at Red Bull, and Hadjar and Lindblad at Racing Bulls, makes the most sense to me.
Lindblad could do what Tsunoda and Lawson haven't
Sam Smith
Red Bull's high turnover rate of drivers has often been one of the more depressing elements of talent management in recent years. It's almost like it's wantonly attempting to redress the balance of bringing a once-in-a-generation talent, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime one, like Verstappen into the world sometimes.
Ultimately, it has compromised its final constructors' championship position for the last two seasons. The imbalances of Perez/Verstappen and Tsunoda/Verstappen in the last two years have been among the greatest lopsided returns in F1 history. That clearly can't go on.
Logic suggests that Hadjar gets his chance. In the climate of the last few seasons, he's probably earned it. But if the trend of imbalance and disproportion in pace and results continues, the exciting French ace is merely more fodder shot out of the cannon.
To me, it's clear Tsunoda doesn't warrant another season after his performances, so Hadjar it is - but only if the team can address its own philosophy and actually help the second driver find their feet.
Lindblad has been a bit erratic at times this season but his pace and natural talent is undeniable. I've spoken to his manager and mentor, Oliver Rowland, several times over the last few years about Lindblad, and the Formula E champion reckons Lindblad is not only capable of carving out an F1 career, but has the mental capacity and maturity to bypass the issues and career stasis that Tsunoda and Lawson have got bogged down in.
Lawson and Lindblad at Racing Bulls feels like a very dynamic pairing for 2026 to me.
