F1 team now ‘leaning towards’ releasing ‘flawless’ driver at the end of the 2025 season

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One Formula 1 team are ‘leaning towards’ letting one of their drivers go at the end of the season, despite a strong performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Formula 1 driver market hasn’t really kicked into gear yet, with only a few seats left to fill ahead of next season.

Mercedes will confirm their two drivers for 2026 eventually, especially after George Russell delivered another fantastic performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Alpine have narrowed their selection down to two drivers, with Franco Colapinto up against reserve driver Paul Aron, according to Flavio Briatore.

That leaves Red Bull and Racing Bulls as the only teams yet to commit to two drivers for 2026.

Max Verstappen will remain at Red Bull for another year, and Isack Hadjar is expected to be promoted alongside him.

It leaves Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson as the two drivers under threat, and Red Bull are now looking more likely to drop one than the other, with Arvid Lindblad preparing for a potential promotion next season.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Red Bull are ‘leaning’ towards Liam Lawson being ‘jettisoned’ at the end of the 2025 F1 season

Saunders was speaking on the Pit Pass F1 Podcast in the aftermath of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and speaking about Lawson, he explained: “I did also want to shout out Liam Lawson for a great drive in the Racing Bulls.

“It wasn’t the drive to a podium that he hoped it would be with Sainz, but I think that one of those two drivers at least was going to struggle to hold that position, just with some of the cars starting behind.

“I have to say, very impressed with the way that Lawson held it together in the last bit of that race.

“A lot of races can unravel when you’re in that sort of position, lots of fast cars around you, you’ve got to nail different strategies to other drivers around you, and Lawson was flawless.

“It’s a track where a lot of drivers can get caught out. We don’t know what Lawson’s going to be doing next year, that’s probably the big reason why it was a fascinating drive to watch, because Red Bull still don’t know what to do with him, whether to even keep him at the junior team, whether to jettison him completely.

“That does seem to be where they’re leaning to, but Laurent Mekies said to us on Sunday, he said, ‘There’s a reason we’re slowing up on this decision. There’s a reason why we’re not making this decision as quickly as we might otherwise,’ and it’s exactly that.

“Lawson, driving to fifth like he did, right ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, the other guy that’s really under pressure and in an uncertain situation, I think it complicates the decision for Red Bull, in a good way.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad including his parents

What Red Bull are now ‘feeling’ internally about promoting Arvid Lindblad to replace Liam Lawson

If Red Bull are ‘leaning towards’ letting Lawson go at the end of the season, it means that they’re ready to place Lindblad in Formula 1 next season.

However, Saunders has explained that there are some at Red Bull who are no longer sure if that’s the right option.

“They’ve got Arvid Lindblad in the junior categories,” explained Saunders, “and there is a feeling at Red Bull, is there any reason to promote this guy too early?

“If Lawson can keep performing at that level, obviously, it wasn’t the podium that Hadjar got in Zandvoort, but it was still a fantastic drive from him.

“This seems to be a make-or-break couple of weeks coming up for him.”

Lindblad currently sits seventh in the Formula 2 championship, and with two rounds left, he’s unable to win the title.

It means he could spend another year at that level, which may be the best solution, as it will give Red Bull one more season to work out what to do with their current quartet.