Follow us on Google Discover Red Bull’s decision on their 2026 Formula 1 driver line-ups is imminent. The team have been indicating for a while that the USA/Mexico double-header would be decisive.
Speaking prior to the race weekend, Helmut Marko confirmed Red Bull will choose their drivers after Mexico. Isack Hadjar is pushing to replace Yuki Tsunoda at the flagship team.
The Japanese driver is out of contract at the end of the season but is holding out hope of a return to Racing Bulls. Tsunoda could reunite with Liam Lawson, but highly-rated Formula 2 driver Arvid Lindblad is the complicating factor in that equation.
Red Bull decision-makers weren’t ‘convinced’ by Alex Dunne
In the same interview, Marko said that Alex Dunne wouldn’t move to Racing Bulls for 2026. And GPBlog add that he wouldn’t be joining the Red Bull family at any capacity.
It was recently announced that Dunne had left McLaren after a disagreement about his future programme. The presence of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri precluded any opportunities.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Marko had spoken to Dunne, but those talks have now collapsed. It’s said that not everyone at Red Bull was ‘convinced’ by the Irishman, who has made two FP1 appearances this season.
There are ‘major doubts’ about the ‘on-track behaviour’ of a driver who has amassed 10 penalty points, putting him close to a race ban. They were confident in his speed, but that alone wasn’t enough.
What will Alex Dunne do now after Racing Bulls rejection?
The feeling is that Dunne ‘gambled’ by leaving McLaren, and it has backfired. It was perhaps a risk worth taking, though, because the door to the Woking outfit was closed.
Currently fifth in the F2 standings, he’s likely to remain in the series for another year. Unless another team pick him up, he may then be forced to explore alternative racing series, even though David Coulthard says Dunne deserves a place in F1.
Intriguingly, Alpine were interested in Dunne before Red Bull moved ahead in the race. They could theoretically revive that move, but Flavio Briatore may bristle at the thought of being second choice.