Alex Palou shares what his relationship with Max Verstappen is like after 2025 Red Bull links

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Max Verstappen will have Isack Hadjar on the other side of the Red Bull garage in 2026, but the team had been considering several drivers for the second seat, including Alex Palou.

Hadjar has been promoted from Racing Bulls to the main team after an impressive rookie campaign. He will be Verstappen’s third different teammate in the last 12 months and his sixth since Daniel Ricciardo left the team at the end of 2019.

Liam Lawson was dropped by Red Bull after just two races in 2025 and was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, who also struggled to get to grips with the RB21. As the season progressed, it was becoming clear that the Japanese star would be losing his seat in 2026.

Does Isack Hadjar have the right mindset for his promotion to Red Bull in 2026?

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Sure enough, Tsunoda left Red Bull and will act as their reserve driver this season, while Hadjar makes the step up to partner with Verstappen. But the team were said to have looked outside their current pool of drivers for 2026.

IndyCar champion Alex Palou was linked with Red Bull. The Spaniard won the Indy 500 and his fourth championship in five years in 2025, prompting speculation that he could pair up with Verstappen and make the long-awaited switch to F1.

He had been on McLaren’s books for 2024, but a contract dispute with their IndyCar team saw that opportunity break down. In the end, Red Bull rubbished the Palou rumours and did not sign him alongside Verstappen, but the two drivers go way back.

Alex Palou has a ‘very good’ relationship with Max Verstappen after Red Bull links

Speaking to SoyMotor, the IndyCar star revealed that he and Verstappen have known each other since karting and have kept a strong relationship over the years.

Palou said: “I love Max, because, I think it’s also partly due to the relationship I’ve had with him and continue to have with him, which is that maybe, apart from the fact that he’s very good and surely one of the best in history, it makes me like him even more.”

Asked what their relationship is like, he replied: “It’s good, it’s very good. Yes, in karting we were on the same team, which was CRG, in different categories, but well, he was already dominating, he was already winning everything, which is why we were in different categories.

“He jumped to above our age range. I was in the one I was supposed to be in and he had already jumped, because he had already won everything in the previous ones.

“So then we did drift apart a bit. He was in Formula 1, and then we reconnected through the simulators. I’ve raced and I’m still involved, although I don’t have much time anymore.

“I race with his team, Redline, and I’ve done a couple of cool races head-to-head with Max, so the relationship is good.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Several F1 key figures want to see Alex Palou in Formula 1

Palou’s success in IndyCar has left many wondering what he could achieve in F1. Several figures want to see him in the sport in the future.

Jacques Villeneuve called for Racing Bulls to sign Palou in 2026 and replace Tsunoda. But Red Bull did not make a move for the 28-year-old, and instead opted to sign Arvid Lindblad.

David Croft hopes to see Palou at Cadillac when either Valtteri Bottas or Sergio Perez leave the team. Given the connections to Andretti and IndyCar, the move would make sense, but they do already have Colton Herta and Zhou Guanyu.

Mario Andretti says Palou ‘has to’ join a top team if he is to make the move to F1. He needs the right outfit to show his talent, and Red Bull could well have been it if a deal was reached.