Laurent Mekies has confirmed Red Bull will not stick to its original deadline of deciding its 2026 lineup, suggesting Yuki Tsunoda still has time to retain his seat.<\/p>\n
It had been suggested that Red Bull was planning to make a final call about its lineup after this weekend\u2019s race in Mexico, but Mekies has insisted there is \u201cno need to rush.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda given time on Red Bull decision<\/p>\n
Only Max Verstappen has his place confirmed next year with the likes of Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad all hopeful of earning one of the three remaining seats Red Bull controls.<\/p>\n
Senior advisor Helmut Marko had previously said a decision on the team in 2026 would be made after the conclusion of this weekend\u2019s Mexican Grand Prix but team principal Mekies suggested they will not stick to such a hard deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to give Yuki and all our other drivers as much time as we can,\u201d Mekies told Sky Sports. \u201cAnd I know we\u2019ve said in the past, we may want to decide after Mexico, but really, there is no need for us to rush anything.<\/p>\n
More on Red Bull from PlanetF1.com \u201cHe\u2019s done a very good race in Austin. He did an excellent session this morning [FP1]. We will take our time, and when we feel we are ready, we\u2019ll do it. No need to rush.\u201d<\/p>\n FP1 saw Lindblad in the Red Bull car in place of Verstappen. The F1 hopeful managed to clock a quicker time than Tsunoda with Marko suggesting that it gave \u201csome answers\u201d but no decision had yet been made on the potential make-up of next year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got some answers, but I can\u2019t tell you what the driver lineup will be,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will wait a little bit, and then we decide.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s see after [the weekend] and then we will make some at least comments.\u201d<\/p>\n Tsunoda enjoyed arguably his best weekend in a Red Bull last time out in Austin and said he needs to \u201ckeep doing that\u201d in the final five events of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cMy pace was really, really good,\u201d Tsunoda said after the race in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to make up a few positions in the first few laps, and my overall pace wasn\u2019t bad. I could have done a little better in the second stint \u2013 I think I managed it a little too much \u2013 but it was positive to get points in both races this weekend. We need to keep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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