After months of speculation in the media and auditions by the drivers, Red Bull has confirmed its line-up for both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls for the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s great news for Isack Hadjar, good news for Liam Lawson and a goodbye for Yuki Tsunoda, at least in terms of a race seat. The PlanetF1.com crew has had its say on Red Bull\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda simply wasn\u2019t good enough<\/p>\n
By Mat Coch<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda simply wasn\u2019t good enough. Red Bull is an organisation that creates world champions; anything short of that is a failure.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an incredibly high marker for success, but that is the metric which it has laid out for itself ever since first promoting Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi all those years ago.<\/p>\n
I hasten to add that Tsunoda IS good enough for Formula 1, however. But is he a world champion in waiting? He\u2019s shown nothing in five years to suggest as much. Such is the brutality of F1, and specifically Red Bull\u2019s programme, that simply being \u2018good\u2019 isn\u2019t good enough. It demands greatness.<\/p>\n
Does that mean Liam Lawson is any better, I hear you ask? Well, we don\u2019t really know. And that\u2019s sort of the point; it\u2019s not yet clear whether the New Zealander has reached his full potential. After five years, there are few unknowns with Tsunoda.<\/p>\n
Hence, it makes perfect sense to retain Lawson at Racing Bulls for another season; give him a clear run and see what he can do.<\/p>\n
That he\u2019s some experience is also helpful for Lindblad.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a partnership that more clearly aligns with what Racing Bulls is, a development squad for Red Bull, with a small amount of experience and, with any luck, a larger helping of potential.<\/p>\n
For Hadjar, the promotion is just reward after a fine rookie season. But the hard work is only just beginning.<\/p>\n
Being Max Verstappen\u2019s teammate is the hardest job in F1. He\u2019s a generational talent around whom the team has been built. The challenge for Hadjar is not to try and beat the Dutchman, but to survive.<\/p>\n
It seems a strange thing to say, given Red Bull demands greatness, and it perhaps doesn\u2019t quite paint the right picture, because Hadjar will be expected to deliver to a certain standard.<\/p>\n
But while doing that, he must also survive the mental onslaught that comes with occupying the other side of the Red Bull garage; the challenge that comes with racing in the same machinery as a driver who will be regarded as among the very best Formula 1 has ever seen.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a hell of an ask, and the odds of success are low. But to be the best, you must be willing to race the best. Hadjar had shown himself to be a bright prospect, but the hard work is yet to begin.<\/p>\n
Red Bull correct to turn to fresh blood after Yuki Tsunoda flop<\/p>\n
by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s sad to see the likeable Yuki Tsunoda lose out on a seat after being one of the leading lights of the midfield in recent years, his promotion to the big time has been a monumental flop.<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s no doubt the Red Bull RB21 is a difficult car to drive, the fundamentals of a car remain the same as any other: accelerate, brake, and steer.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen has proven the car does have performance capable of race victories and a title challenge so, across almost the full season, for Tsunoda to have struggled to the point where he has managed just 30 points with the same car\u2026 it\u2019s unfathomable that Red Bull could continue with him.<\/p>\n
Is Verstappen a generational talent capable of hustling a competitive if somewhat recalcitrant car into a title contender? Clearly. Is he capable of doing the same with one of the worst cars on the grid, as Tsunoda\u2019s results would suggest? Clearly not.<\/p>\n
The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle but, with Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar outscoring Tsunoda in the less competitive Racing Bulls car, it\u2019s evident that the Japanese driver has not been able to get his head around the RB21 or refine his driving style to suit despite having most of the year to do so.<\/p>\n
With Tsunoda having spent four years at Racing Bulls, he has had his chance to step up to the plate, and has failed.<\/p>\n
Clearly unable to do what Red Bull needs, it makes zero sense to drop him back to Racing Bulls, so it\u2019s time to take a gamble on some fresh blood.<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson, after a difficult start to the year, can be afforded more time: he has considerably less experience than Tsunoda and, in his first full season as an almost-rookie, adjusted quite well to his demotion into a car he didn\u2019t carry out his pre-season with.<\/p>\n
Showing clear improvement through the year, even if Hadjar has shown higher highs, Lawson offers Red Bull a very useful yardstick against which to assess the arriving Arvid Lindblad; effectively, he becomes what Tsunoda was for his last two years at the Faenza-based squad.<\/p>\n
As a highly-rated junior star, Lindblad\u2019s star can be assessed against the known quantity that is Lawson. If he matches or outperforms him, that\u2019s comparable to what Hadjar has managed. If he fails, then Red Bull has a quick and easy answer as to whether he can deliver upon the potential his pre-F1 record has suggested.<\/p>\n
Did Red Bull make the right call?<\/p>\n
By Michelle Foster<\/p>\n
Hadjar promoted, Lawson retained, Tsunoda out-ish. I can\u2019t really argue against any of that. Working backwards\u2026<\/p>\n
Tsunoda has been on the Formula 1 grid since 2021 when he joined Red Bull\u2019s junior team as a Honda-backed driver. His former team principal Franz Tost always had this thing, this timeline, that it takes \u201cminimum three years\u201d to make a Formula 1 driver.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the \u201clearning process\u201d and the \u201ccrash period because if the drivers don\u2019t crash, they don\u2019t know the limit\u201d, but with Tsunoda that three-year period was extended to year four and then year five. And ahead of year five, former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner pretty much said this is it, either Tsunoda steps up, or he steps out.<\/p>\n
He got (more on this to come) to step up and he failed. There is no sugar coating 33 points to 396. P15 v P2. A million arguments that it is Verstappen\u2019s car doesn\u2019t change the fact that one driver hasn\u2019t been higher than P6, and the other has seven grand prix wins.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d drum up a tear of sympathy for Yuki, but I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Sorry. And goodbye.<\/p>\n
I can, however, for Liam Lawson.<\/p>\n
A Red Bull driver for all of two race weekends after being picked as the chosen one because he showed more promise than his rivals, I have never in my years of following Formula 1 seen a more brutal decision than Lawson\u2019s axing.<\/p>\n
I accept Red Bull saw more than we outside the garage did, I\u2019ll even accept the team was worried about breaking his spirit (spoiler alert!), but two races?<\/p>\n
I had hoped that Lawson would show Marko and Co., but that it took him several races to lick his wounds, and some on track with him would argue he\u2019s still trying to prove a point, isn\u2019t a good look.<\/p>\n
Another season with Racing Bulls where he can continue to grow into himself and turn his bullish words into belief is just what the doctor, in this case Dr. Helmut Marko, rightly prescribed for Lawson.<\/p>\n
Which brings me to 2026\u2019s new Red Bull driver, Isack Hadjar.<\/p>\n
Never before has a driver teamed up with Max Verstappen at what can only be called the perfect time.<\/p>\n
Next year Formula 1 will have all-new cars and engines meaning it\u2019s a new game and one with a level playing field. Hadjar has the opportunity to seize on a march on the four* time World Champion. *maybe five on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Ground-effect aerodynamics and the way the car sucked to the ground suited Verstappen. Will the next generation? Lewis Hamilton went from seven World titles to a double Q1 elimination in Qatar because, simply put, he struggles with this generation of cars.<\/p>\n
Hadjar has the opportunity to get a march on Verstappen. At a team that is all too often called Verstappen\u2019s, with a Max Verstappen car, and Jos Verstappen calling the shots, Hadjar has one shot \u2013 F1 2026 \u2013 to make his mark.<\/p>\n
Given the mental fortitude he showed after his \u201cembarrassing\u201d tears from Australia, I believe he has the mental fortitude and the pace to stake his claim.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already cried his tears.<\/p>\n
Unfair on Tsunoda, but late improvement was too little, too late<\/p>\n
By Henry Valantine<\/p>\n
Having finally received the call to take the step up to Red Bull, how important will the off-season and the first two races of the year be in the mind of Yuki Tsunoda, one wonders?<\/p>\n
He probably has every right to feel that, had he been the one to get the call-up instead of Liam Lawson first, that time spent testing, learning and having what input he could into the 2025 car would have been invaluable to him, in what is clearly a different beast to what Racing Bulls produce.<\/p>\n
So much has been said about the \u2018pointy\u2019 nature of the Red Bull and how Verstappen is able to wrangle that car in a way that (breathe in) Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Lawson and now Tsunoda have not. The length of that list is surely a sign that those unique characteristics play directly into, or can only be tamed by, Verstappen himself. After all, F1 folklore suggests that the more driveable cars tend not to be the fastest.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda also faced the issue of his close alignment with Honda, with their backing having been vital to both Red Bull and Tsunoda himself over the past half-decade.<\/p>\n
Given Honda\u2019s upcoming switch to Aston Martin, it would have taken Tsunoda to be right on Verstappen\u2019s tail to ensure a seat on driving alone, but the fact that both he and Lawson were able to get more from the sister team\u2019s machine speaks volumes.<\/p>\n
Even though it was only a free practice session in Mexico, Arvid Lindblad going a tenth quicker than Tsunoda in that hour will have also raised eyebrows behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Best of luck to Isack Hadjar, then, in this scenario. He certainly has no shortage of self-confidence as he makes the step up, but given the team\u2019s history of promoting promising talent to partner Verstappen in the hope he will be challenged in at least the way Daniel Ricciardo managed, it would be no small feat on his part to keep the faith for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n
The list above shows the odds are against Hadjar, unfortunately, but he has the chance to be the exception.<\/p>\n
As for Racing Bulls, it feels as though it would have been unfair, especially based on form in the second half of the season, for the team to have discarded Liam Lawson entirely.<\/p>\n
Former team boss Franz Tost\u2019s mantra was that it would take a driver three seasons to show their true potential behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, and with two half-campaigns and a seat swap in 2025, next year will be Lawson\u2019s big chance to show he has what it takes at the top level.<\/p>\n
Having watched plenty of Lindblad\u2019s races, too, it is easy to see why the team has opted for this move \u2013 and a new face, at Racing Bulls at least, makes sense in its status as the feeder team.<\/p>\n
His rapid progression is a sign that, much like Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes this season, he deserves time to bed himself in, get the rookie mistakes out of his system and watch him build from there. He is very highly-rated within the Red Bull system, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he is talked about as a future Red Bull driver in years to come.<\/p>\n
As for whether or not these line-ups are the right decision, it feels like the most logical step for both teams at this point. It feels harsh on Tsunoda, but Formula 1 has also tended not to be the most sentimental sport. I hope to see him back on the grid in 2027.<\/p>\n
Well played, Red Bull<\/p>\n
By Jamie Woodhouse<\/p>\n
Like Michelle, I cannot find a hole in the logic with these Red Bull line-ups for F1 2026.<\/p>\n
Ordinarily, it would be hard to envisage Isack Hadjar being any different to the drivers before, who rode that negative spiral to its bitter end. Yuki Tsunoda, the latest.<\/p>\n
But, with the complete reset of the rules, that \u2018it\u2019s the car\u2019 argument is torn apart, giving Hadjar the opening to establish himself. It is an opportunity which he simply must take.<\/p>\n
It is ironic that Hadjar, seen as a little too emotional in his days as a Red Bull junior, has become the confident, controlled figure which he has after (nearly) one season of Formula 1, and the driver who, mentally, looks very much ready to be the next brave soul lining-up alongside Verstappen.<\/p>\n
As for Racing Bulls, considering the emphasis is very much back on developing future Red Bull drivers, it makes complete sense for Arvid Lindblad to come in, and Yuki Tsunoda to be the one left out, looking for a way back in as test\/reserve driver.<\/p>\n
Lawson is about to complete his first full Formula 1 season, so is very much a driver still with room for growth, and unlike Tsunoda, it cannot be said that he got a fair shot in the Red Bull team and could not hack it.<\/p>\n
Were there any signs that he would come good, no. But, none of us have a crystal ball, and come on, he got two grands prix. That\u2019s it. If any driver was to break the Red Bull trend with a second call-up, Lawson has a good shout for deserving it.<\/p>\n
Lindblad is an interesting one. He has shown spells of blistering speed in the junior categories, including F2, so to call him up to Racing Bulls is correct.<\/p>\n
After all, the Red Bull Junior Team has not been as productive recently as it once was, so Red Bull need to make use of a very promising talent when they have one such as Lindblad.<\/p>\n
However, Lindblad needs to prove that he can handle the pressure as he steps up to Formula 1. He should have won the Italian F4 title at a canter, but suffered an emphatic collapse. He also fell away from the F3 and F2 title scenes just as he was emerging as a contender.<\/p>\n
Joining Racing Bulls should allow Lindblad to find his footing and refine that raw pace away from any title pressures.<\/p>\n
All in all, I say Red Bull have got this spot on.<\/p>\n