F1 insider thinks Red Bull have now decided who will be Max Verstappen’s 2026 teammate

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Isack Hadjar once again displayed his Red Bull credentials by finishing on the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday. But there was also a much-needed return to form for Yuki Tsunoda.

Hadjar became the first rookie ever to score a podium for the Red Bull sister team. He’s now leapt up to 10th in the championship, which puts him between Sebastian Vettel’s 2008 campaign (eighth) and Max Verstappen’s 2015 showing (12th).

Tsunoda, meanwhile, rallied from 12th on the grid to ninth despite a throttle issue in the final stint. While the result is far less impressive on paper, there’s an acceptance that Red Bull’s car is more difficult to drive than the VCARB02.

Swap the drivers, and it’s conceivable that the results would be reversed. That’s the dilemma facing Laurent Mekies, who has worked with both drivers, in choosing Red Bull’s 2026 line-up.

Red Bull have already decided to promote Isack Hadjar, insider claims

According to F1 insider Felix Gorner, a reporter for RTL and sport.de, Red Bull already know that their driver pairing next year will be Verstappen and Hadjar. There’s hope that the latter will break the ‘curse’ of the second seat.

Tsunoda may be eyeing a return to Racing Bulls in a similar vein to Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly. Lawson is expected to occupy one of the seats after ‘stabilising’ in recent races.

• READ MORE: Jacques Villeneuve thinks Isack Hadjar has privately been told what F1 team he’ll be driving for in 2026

Arvid Lindblad will hope to graduate from Formula 2 and become Lawson’s teammate. That means Tsunoda, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is at risk of being booted out completely.

Honda were instrumental in him joining the programme in the first place, and receiving a long-awaited promotion. But the engine suppliers will split with Red Bull at the end of the season.

Where could Yuki Tsunoda go if Racing Bulls return doesn’t materialise?

As Gorner notes, Tsunoda does bring considerable backing from Japan. Honda are linking up with Aston Martin, but they won’t have an opening until 2027 at the earliest.

Commercial incentives aren’t as important as they used to be in F1, but Tsunoda proved at AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls that he was a strong midfield driver. He averages more than a point per race in his career.

The F1 paddock is more sympathetic than ever to the plight of Verstappen’s teammates, but it remains to be seen whether that’s enough to keep Tsunoda on the grid.

Tsunoda is an option for Alpine in the event that they axe Franco Colapinto. The Argentine’s future is in the balance as his wait for a point goes on.