Karun Chandhok concerned that Red Bull are about to make two mistakes with their 2026 driver line-ups

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Red Bull are close to deciding their driver pairings for the 2026 season at the main team and Racing Bulls, with four drivers in the running.

Max Verstappen is the only Red Bull driver currently locked in for 2026, with the team deliberating over who will be his teammate. It seems likely that Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda after impressing with Racing Bulls in his rookie season.

Meanwhile, the latter has been struggling in the second RB21, being significantly off the pace of Verstappen and lacking consistent points finishes. Ralf Schumacher thinks it’s ‘game over’ for Tsunoda as he faces dropping out of F1 at the end of 2025.

Tsunoda is unlikely to get a second chance at Racing Bulls, with the Faenza outfit looking to develop younger drivers. Liam Lawson is set to retain his seat, while Red Bull are looking increasingly likely to promote Arvid Lindblad from F2.

Karun Chandhok concerned Red Bull will make two mistakes in 2026 – promote Arvid Lindblad and drop Yuki Tsunoda

The 18-year-old is considered a serious talent for the future, but he is still in the early stages of his development. Lindblad’s poor F2 results are confusing Racing Bulls as they decide whether to promote him to F1 after just one season in the category.

For Karun Chandhok, this would be a mistake from Red Bull, as would dropping Tsunoda. Speaking via The F1 Show, he would keep four experienced drivers in their line-up as they prepare to become an engine manufacturer under the 2026 F1 regulations.

“My personal view, I think Lindblad, Arvid is very, very good. I’ve got to know him a little bit over the last few years, extremely talented,” he said.

“But I think they shouldn’t make the same mistake of just rushing these guys through too early. I would actually keep him in F2, but then do what Mercedes did with Antonelli and put together a massive TPC test program for him.

“Even though the cars will be a completely different generation, it doesn’t matter. Just give him loads and loads of mileage, prepare him properly for 2027.

“Because, just to finish up, let’s remember next year, Red Bull are going to be an engine manufacturer for the first time. And I think having four drivers with Formula 1 experience.

“So I would actually keep Yuki. I actually think keep Yuki and Liam at Racing Bulls, Isack and Max [at Red Bull], have four experienced drivers, because it’s a really important year.

“It’s a massive year for Red Bull Technologies as a company to become an engine company. I think having four experienced drivers would be really helpful and then you could put Lindblad in for ‘27.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Karun Chandhok warns Yuki Tsunoda he is not ‘any closer’ to Max Verstappen despite Red Bull resurgence

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is ‘almost begging’ Tsunoda to improve and give him a reason to keep him in 2026. The team have enjoyed a resurgence in recent races, with Verstappen winning three of the last four races.

Tsunoda finished P7 in both races in Austin, but he was still more than 50 seconds off his teammate’s pace. Chandhok warned him that he is not ‘any closer’ to Verstappen, which could damage his chances of staying in 2026.

“Yeah, he’s not actually any closer, is he? He’s more competitive and he’s scoring points because the car’s better, to your point, the Red Bull’s gotten better.

“He was still, what was he yesterday, 52 seconds behind Max. How many laps was the race? 56 laps. So that’s still back to the usual eight, nine, 10th gap that we’ve seen all along.”