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Red Bull will wait longer to decide its 2026 Formula 1 driver line-ups, having intended to pick Max Verstappen’s team-mate after the Mexican Grand Prix.
There is an expectation in F1 that Red Bull will replace Yuki Tsunoda with Isack Hadjar and give Max Verstappen his fourth team-mate in just over 12 months.
What has been less clear is what Red Bull will do for its second team, Racing Bulls - whether Tsunoda will be placed there again alongside Liam Lawson or if either of those two will be paired with rookie Arvid Lindblad.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko had previously indicated that a decision would be made after the Mexico race, with confirmation potentially coming as early as this gap before the Brazilian Grand Prix, but this is no longer the plan.
While Hadjar still seems to be in a strong position for a promotion to the senior team, it is still possible that Tsunoda - who Red Bull Racing team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies said had his “best weekend in a long time” in Mexico - is kept on.
When asked by The Race about Tsunoda’s weekend and the impact it could have on his bid to keep his seat, Mekies said Tsunoda “making steps forward” is “one of the reasons why we want to take a bit more time before we make a decision on the drivers”.
Tsunoda failed to follow up his point-scoring United States GP weekend with another good result in Mexico, although this was down to a problem at his pitstop costing him a nailed on top-10 finish.
He had been just a couple of tenths slower than Verstappen in qualifying and was unlucky to be eliminated in Q2 on a weaker event for Red Bull, and his race pace - though still not competitive enough to trouble cars from the other top four teams - was stronger than in recent races too.
“He was very, very close in quali to Max,” said Mekies. “And the first stint was very, very strong as well, two tenths or three tenths from Max on the same very long first stint on the medium.
“After that, I think it's on our side.”
Tsunoda's smallest qualifying gaps to team-mate Verstappen in 2025
0.163s - Hungarian GP
0.211s - Mexican GP
0.263s - Austrian GP
0.381s - Belgian GP
0.464s - Canadian GP
Committing to a change of driver before the end of the year would be the third time Red Bull has made such a call since last season’s final round - after dumping Sergio Perez at the end of 2024, then demoting his replacement Lawson after just two races this season.
And although Mekies said “we have no reasons to pressure the decision” it is still Red Bull’s plan to make a call before the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Whether it will be communicated to the drivers, and announced publicly, is unclear though.
Red Bull does not want to repeat last year’s problem where the situation was dragged out right to mid-December, as it does not think this is in the team’s best interests and would not be fair on the drivers.
Complicating factors, though, are Verstappen’s lingering 2025 drivers’ title hopes and the two teams’ constructors’ championship battles.
Announcing planned driver changes could destabilise the teams going into a crucial final run of races. It could distract from what Red Bull wants to be the focus with Verstappen, but could also impact any of the drivers involved as Red Bull chases second in the constructors’ and Racing Bulls comes under pressure for sixth.
Asked by The Race if this was a valid factor, along with wanting to give Tsunoda time but also make sure the drivers know their futures as soon as possible, and complicating the timing of the decision, Mekies said: “It’s exactly as you say.
“I didn’t mention it, but you are right in saying that there is also a focus element in our decisions to delay.
“We don't want the distraction now.
“What is at stake is exactly what you describe. The parameters are exactly this.
“We are lucky enough, we are free to choose what we think we need to choose.
“And therefore the only parameters are the ones you mentioned.”
