Helmut Marko shares who is ‘not an option’ for 2026 Racing Bulls seat as Liam Lawson learns timeline

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Red Bull control three of the final four seats available on the 2026 F1 grid, with Yuki Tsunoda plus Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson currently unconfirmed.

Only Alpine are also yet to finalise their driver line-up for the 2026 F1 season after Mercedes confirmed new contracts for George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Franco Colapinto has yet to secure his continuation as Pierre Gasly’s teammate at Alpine beyond the end of 2025.

It is widely expected that Red Bull will finalise their 2026 driver line-up by promoting Hadjar from Racing Bulls to replace Tsunoda next year. But Racing Bulls’ line-up is far from clear, as Lawson and Tsunoda fight for their futures in F1, and Arvid Lindblad looks to earn his debut.

Alex Dunne also joined the race for a 2026 Racing Bulls F1 seat after the 19-year-old left the McLaren junior programme. The Irishman does not currently have an FIA superlicence, but he can earn enough qualifying points by finishing in the top three of the 2025 F2 standings.

Helmut Marko rules Alex Dunne out for a 2026 Racing Bulls F1 seat

However, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has now ruled Dunne out of the race to drive for Racing Bulls in F1 in 2026. While Dunne was recently seen speaking with Marko, the Austrian has confirmed that Red Bull are not considering the Offaly native for a drive in F1.

READ MORE: Who is ex-McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne? Everything you need to know

Marko told Klein Zeitung about Dunne’s Racing Bulls F1 hopes: “He’s not an option for us.”

But while Dunne’s demise slims the field, Marko adds that Red Bull do not plan to confirm their driver line-up for the 2026 F1 season or that of Racing Bulls until after the Mexico City Grand Prix. So, Lawson, Tsunoda, Hadjar and Lindblad have at least two more weeks to wait.

Marko added regarding Red Bull’s 2026 F1 line-up: “We’ll make our decision after Mexico.”

F1 will travel to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City GP on October 24-26 following this Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at COTA. Red Bull will then finalise their line-up for 2026, and that of Racing Bulls, prior to the final four rounds of the 2025 season.

Helmut Marko believes 2026 Racing Bulls candidate Arvid Lindblad is ready for F1

The 2025 F1 season is set to finish with rounds in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. F2 is also scheduled to finish its 2025 season in Qatar on November 28-30 and Abu Dhabi on December 5-7, but Red Bull will not consider Lindblad or Dunne’s results over those rounds.

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

Red Bull intend to use the gap between the Mexico City GP and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 7-9 to fix their 2026 F1 driver line-ups. Marko also believes Red Bull have already seen enough from Lindblad to believe the 18-year-old is ready for a move to F1 next season.

Marko added on whether Lindblad is ready for F1: “Generally speaking, yes. He’s just younger than Hadjar, and we’ve seen in the past that age plays a role in Formula 1.

“But, generally speaking, he’s another one of our hopes. We’ll see him in the car this year [in an F1 FP1 session], too.”

Arvid Lindblad already has an FIA superlicence to race in F1, despite his struggles in F2

Unlike Dunne, Lindblad already has an FIA superlicence, which is required to race in F1, after he won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship back in February. Yet Lindblad only sits seventh in the 2025 F2 standings compared to Dunne in fifth during their rookie campaigns.

Dunne has scored 130 points to Lindblad’s 109 so far this season. The Irishman also won the F2 Feature Races in Bahrain and Imola, and was disqualified after a superb Feature Race win in Belgium due to a penalty for a minor procedural breach at the start of the formation lap.

Lindblad won the Feature Race in Spain and the Sprint Race in Saudi Arabia, and he was also disqualified from P2 in the Feature Race in Belgium having not respected the minimum tyre pressures. But the 18-year-old British-Swedish prospect has also made some big mistakes.

Some at Red Bull question if Lindblad is ready for F1 after a difficult first year in F2, including him hitting Dunne and Roman Stanek during the Monza Feature Race. Yet Marko is prepared to ignore Lindblad’s struggles in F2 and place him at Racing Bulls during the 2026 F1 season.