Red Bull finalises 2026 line-up, reshuffles junior pathway

Red Bull finalised its 2026 driver line-up and plans to announce it on Tuesday ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale. The decision was made with input from Laurent Mekies, Helmut Marko and CEO Oliver Mintzlaff; management said the timing was chosen to avoid distracting Max Verstappen during the title run‑in and to allow any driver who misses out a proper send‑off in Abu Dhabi. Mekies emphasised that anyone racing in Abu Dhabi must be able to support Verstappen and praised Yuki Tsunoda’s recent pace as the team weighed its options.

The core decision promotes Isack Hadjar into the senior Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, creating a vacancy at sister team Racing Bulls that is set to be filled by 18‑year‑old FIA Formula 2 (F2) race winner Arvid Lindblad. The other Racing Bulls seat is contested between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda; reports said a high‑level meeting favoured retaining Lawson to partner Lindblad, while Tsunoda faces alternatives including a move to Racing Bulls, a reserve role, or release.

The Qatar Grand Prix served as a final audition: Hadjar signalled he knew his future, Lawson finished ahead of Tsunoda and impressed team figures, and Tsunoda showed flashes of speed in the sprint despite an otherwise difficult season (15th in the standings with 33 points). The announced structure settles a key piece of Red Bull’s driver programme, reshuffles its junior pathway and has immediate implications for driver careers and partner‑team line‑ups in 2026. The Tuesday announcement is reported to finalise those placements and bring clarity after one of the off‑season’s most closely watched decisions.