Red Bull could hire £3m-a-year driver and 334-point star in ‘all-new’ 2026 line-up

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Red Bull Racing go into the United States Grand Prix after an autumn break where they’ve been at the centre of the biggest story in Formula 1.

Although Daniel Ricciardo was let go by RB, it’s Red Bull that have control over the driver line-ups of both teams.

Team principal Christian Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on their driver choices over the year.

Marko is keen to promote younger drivers and Horner had to protect Ricciardo for months before they finally arrived at a decision to hand Liam Lawson his chance.

Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are now competing to prove that they should replace Sergio Perez next season with the Mexican still struggling to live up to expectations.

Underlying all of this uncertainty is Max Verstappen’s future.

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

The Dutchman is contracted to 2028, but Mercedes have been desperate to sign Verstappen for some time.

Aston Martin are also keen on Verstappen as they continue their spending spree to become a leading Formula 1 manufacturer.

Speaking on the Autosport podcast, journalists Alex Kalinauckas and Ben Hunt were discussing the future of Red Bull’s line-up.

Kalinauckas believes that it’s not out of the question that Red Bull will have a completely different line-up going into 2026 and could look outside of their network to hire both drivers.

Oscar Piastri will find out next year whether he’ll be allowed to freely fight Lando Norris to become McLaren’s number one driver.

Meanwhile, George Russell’s Mercedes contract expires next year and if Toto Wolff’s interest in Verstappen intensifies, then he could be looking elsewhere on the grid to stay in F1.

How Oscar Piastri and George Russell could become Red Bull’s ‘all-new’ 2026 driver line-up

Asked whether it’s likely that Perez will be in the Red Bull next year, Kalinauckas said: “I don’t think you can say definitively at all.

“I think Christian Horner’s come out openly and said it, we can’t afford to have him potentially in the car if he performs at this level, because at the rate it’s going, they are going to lose this Constructors’ Championship.

“And that’s a prestige hit, but it’s a massive financial hit as well.”

His colleague Ben Hunt continued: “It’s funny. I mean, we started the year talking about Max, whether he would stay at Red Bull for this year and we’re finishing the year with, is Sergio Perez going to be in the car next year?

“I mean, we could have seen both of them depart at the end of this year.”

Kalinauckas then posed who might be in the car by the time we reach the 2026 season: “I mean, I think almost the more interesting question is, does it have an all-new driver lineup in 26?

“Is it George Russell and Oscar Piastri? They, obviously, they have their own contracts and things like that, but to get the program restarted or to have some sort of comprehensive change, that’s potentially what they’re looking at.”

Why Oscar Piastri and George Russell could be on the market for Red Bull

Red Bull have known for some time that they need to find a solution for their driver line-up with Perez not performing at an acceptable level.

However, if they lose Verstappen then suddenly they need to find a new lead driver that doesn’t exist within their academy right now.

Oscar Piastri is on the right trajectory to fit that bill having already secured 334 career points, nine podiums and two Grand Prix wins in his short career.

It will come down to how McLaren manage Piastri and Norris’s relationship with both drivers more than capable of being future world champions in the right car.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Russell – who is currently on £3m-a-year at Mercedes – has waited a long time to be the team’s leader driver.

However, he may be slightly concerned as he approaches the end of his deal that Mercedes might throw their weight behind Kimi Antonelli once he’s on the grid next year.