One Red Bull 2026 driver decision is now ‘done and dusted’ after the Mexican Grand Prix

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Red Bull Racing have delayed announcing their 2026 driver line-ups until later in the season.

It was expected that a decision would be reached by Red Bull after the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko suggested Yuki Tsunoda would discover his future after Mexico, so he’ll be glad he has more time to convince the team that he deserves a place on the grid in 2026.

If team principal Laurent Mekies were to draw conclusions from the Mexican Grand Prix, then a few points stand out.

Firstly, Red Bull without Max Verstappen would be in serious trouble, with the Dutchman continuing to make up ground in the drivers’ championship against all the odds.

Liam Lawson needs his luck to change, while Isack Hadjar hasn’t been able to follow up his podium at Zandvoort with another standout result.

Mekies was impressed with Arvid Lindblad after his FP1 outing, and aside from Verstappen’s position within the team being secure for as long as he wants to race in Formula 1, the other quartet are battling for three seats.

Journalists Scott Mitchell-Malm and Edd Straw were discussing the decision Red Bull need to make ahead of next season and believe Hadjar’s seat for 2026 is ‘done and dusted’.

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Isack Hadjar’s move to Red Bull ‘done and dusted’ for the 2026 Formula 1 season

Mitchell-Malm and Straw were reflecting on the FP1 session earlier in the weekend when nine rookies took part in the Mexican Grand Prix on The Race F1’s Patreon.

Straw said: “I can only really look at the times for Lindblad, it’s probably decent for Lindblad and not great for Tsunoda. But Lindblad did get the extra attempt and ran slightly later.

“I don’t think that’s the moment that suddenly Lindblad’s guaranteed to get a seat and Tsunoda’s done and dusted forever, but it just adds a little bit to that.

“I think the decision’s not been made yet, but it is imminent, and it’s not looking great for Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing.”

Mitchell-Malm replied: “But there’s a possibility that those two will be teammates next year because I think one of the things that Red Bull’s weighing up, it seems, is basically Isack Hadjar to Red Bull Racing alongside Verstappen, pretty much seems done and dusted at this point.

“And it’s now a question of if they promote Lindblad and if they do, who partners him?

“Liam Lawson’s actually done a really good job, I don’t think he’s been mega this year, but I think he’s done a really good job to rebuild.

“He was done and out when he went back to the second team, but he’s a legitimate option to be kept on; he’s made it harder for them to work out what to do.

“I think there are different arguments for it.”

Straw went on to say that one of the most important factors in choosing a teammate for Lindblad, if he goes to Racing Bulls, is to work out who will help him improve the most.

It means on top of trying to score as many points as possible in the final four races, Lawson and Tsunoda have to demonstrate their capacity to lead a team and help develop talent.

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Red Bull are already making F1 driver plans for the 2027 season

It looks like three drivers – Verstappen, Hadjar and Lindblad – will be part of the Red Bull quartet next season.

However, the final seat is still yet to be decided between Lawson and Tsunoda.

There are now suggestions that Lawson could be retained before giving up his seat to Alex Dunne in 2027.

Dunne left the McLaren junior program last month and was linked with joining Red Bull’s development roster.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but his Formula 2 campaign suggests he’s a serious talent.

However, Lawson will be the incumbent, and if he can continue his good recent form in 2026, then there’s no reason why Red Bull shouldn’t continue to put their faith in the New Zealander.