With the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend, the last pieces have fallen into place for the 2026 field of drivers. Red Bull Racing has announced that Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda next season. The 21-year-old will be Max Verstappen’s seventh teammate over the last nine seasons. The chaotic churn in the senior team’s second seat is even more pronounced when considering that Sergio Pérez lined up alongside Verstappen in four of those nine seasons.
Hadjar’s potential in top-tier machinery was impossible to ignore as he progressed through his rookie F1 season. Notably, he had a very rocky debut after he crashed out on the formation lap before the Australian Grand Prix. Hadjar acclimated, became a frequent point scorer and secured his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix. He’s set to outscore both his teammates in the championship this season, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda was always fighting an uphill battle to retain his race seat at Red Bull. The Japanese driver was a product of the Honda Formula Dream Project, and his adoption by the energy drink giant was a result of a now-terminated power unit agreement. He was also initially passed over for Lawson before the New Zealander’s disastrous stint at the senior team forced an early-season swap. Tsunoda will now be spending next season as the team’s reserve and test driver.
Arvid Lindblad will make his F1 debut next season
With Hadjar’s promotion, there was a vacancy at Racing Bulls. Red Bull decided to place Arvid Lindblad, the current wunderkind from its prodigious junior program. The 18-year-old British driver has been fast-tracked to the world championship. Lindblad drew Red Bull’s attention in 2021 as a 14-year-old karting champion. This year, the teenager ran a pair of practice sessions with Red Bull and is currently sixth in the F2 standings. While he hasn’t racked up junior championships, Red Bull sees the ability and the potential of a champion, like how Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli were perceived before their F1 debuts.
Red Bull has the luxury of four race seats to manage its roster. When a diamond in the rough is spotted in karting or the junior team, it typically provokes a bidding war and open F1 seats are worth more than gold. It’s how Red Bull convinced Verstappen to sign with its outfit over Mercedes. The German factory team made sure it didn’t happen again by placing Antonelli in one of its race seats on debut. Previous Mercedes prospects, George Russell and Pascal Wehrlein, spent time at Williams on Mercedes’ dime. While Russell was eventually promoted, Wehrlein never was. Only time will time if Lindblad will be the next Verstappen.
