Who will line up alongside Max Verstappen in F1 2026, and who is out of a job?<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s a deadline that is set in stone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will announce our line-up immediately after Qatar,\u201d Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said build-up to the Lusail race. <\/p>\n
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko stressed this when he spoke with PlanetF1.com and other media outlets<\/a> at the track, \u201cHow often we said we will decide after this weekend, so next week we know.\u201d<\/p>\n The three candidates, fighting over two seats, have one race \u2013 tonight\u2019s Qatar Grand Prix \u2013 to make their case. Or do they?<\/p>\n The brutal world of Formula 1:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 All the mid-season driver swaps Red Bull have made in their F1 history<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Revealed: The shortest F1 careers this century in the brutal world of Formula 1<\/a><\/p>\n Isack Hadjar, arguably the rookie of the F1 2025 season with his 51 points and Dutch Grand Prix podium given he\u2019s in a lesser car than Kimi Antonelli\u2019s race-winning Mercedes, has hinted that he may already know his fate. And it\u2019s one, that it is understood, will put him in the Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen next season.<\/p>\n Asked if it would be a \u201crelief\u201d for Red Bull to announce it\u2019s decision after Qatar, he said: \u201cSo finally, you leave me alone. Bit less questions, or actually maybe even more questions, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s good to know that it\u2019s going to end soon. <\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m very happy, especially with a result like this [P6 in qualifying ahead of his rival candidates]. It\u2019s just cherry on the cake. I\u2019m just enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n Told that it\u2019s \u201cnot going to be much of a surprise to you\u201d, Hadjar replied with a chuckle: \u201cThat\u2019s it, I\u2019m not saying anything.\u201d<\/p>\n But asked by PlanetF1.com\u2019s Thomas Maher if he\u2019d been given \u201cany indication\u201d as to the decision, it was pointed out that Hadjar was smiling.<\/p>\n The driver quipped to that: \u201cYou can\u2019t see that I\u2019m smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n One candidate not smiling was current Red Bull incumbent, Yuki Tsunoda.<\/p>\n Despite beating Verstappen in Sprint qualifying to record his first win over the reigning World Champion in a qualifying session, Tsunoda wasn\u2019t able to follow up on that or even come close in Saturday\u2019s qualifying.<\/p>\n He was eliminated in Q1, although he was just three-tenths down on Verstappen.<\/p>\n Asked about his future, Tsunoda refused to comment.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I know you guys want to twist everything, but it\u2019s not decided,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n Tipped to lose the Red Bull seat to Hadjar, Tsunoda is in a head-to-head fight with Liam Lawson as to which of the two heads the Racing Bulls charge next season amidst reports Formula 2 driver and Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad will be in the one of the two seats.<\/p>\n Lawson insisted he\u2019s not stressing about that, he\u2019s just focused on Sunday night\u2019s Qatar Grand Prix. A race that could yet be his last in Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, at this point, with the race, it is not really what we\u2019re thinking about too much,\u201d said the New Zealander.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in this situation plenty of times now to know what it feels like. I guess the decision will come after the weekend, but for now, we have a race.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously we will all back ourselves, and I think in the good moments this year, we were probably very, very strong. Obviously, there are always things in hindsight you look back on and things you can do better.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there are races I would have done things differently, but honestly, overall, I\u2019m pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressed on whether he knows the Red Bull decision, he replied: \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawson was not, as PlanetF1.com noted in exclusive photographs, the driver smiling.<\/p>\n
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/lawson-marko.jpg\")
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