Red Bull could use FIA rule change to field ‘outstanding’ driver in 2025 Formula 1 season

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull have had five junior drivers competing in Formula 2 and Formula 3 this season. The team are trying to restore the conveyor belt of talent that previously produced Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

Isack Hadjar is in contention for the F2 title ahead of the season-ending doubleheader in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. After failing to score points in Italy or Azerbaijan, he relinquished the lead to Gabriel Bortoleto, the 2025 Sauber signing.

He’s still only 4.5 points but Red Bull have doubts about Hadjar. He’s appeared in three F1 practice sessions so far, most recently at the British GP earlier this year.

Elsewhere in F2, Pepe Marti ranks down in 16th place – though that’s only one spot below 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman – and Oliver Goethe is chasing his first points after stepping up from F3 for the final four rounds. The F3 season concluded at Monza on 1 September.

Arvid Lindblad, another Red Bull talent, finished fourth in the standings, 40 points behind champion Leonardo Fornaroli. Tim Tramnitz was also in the top 10.

Will Buxton says Red Bull could unleash Arvid Lindblad after FIA scraps ‘Max Verstappen clause’

If Red Bull promote Liam Lawson from RB as a replacement for Sergio Perez, there will be a vacancy next to Yuki Tsunoda. Hadjar will hope to fill it.

But Christian Horner has often ‘forgotten’ about Hadjar when discussing his junior roster. There seems to be much more excitement about Lindblad.

The Briton will race for Campos in F2 next year, but speaking to Racer’s YouTube channel, F1TV journalist Will Buxton suggested he could make his F1 debut before his 18th birthday in early August. That’s after a key rule change.

The FIA introduced a ‘Max Verstappen clause’ after the Dutchman broke into F1 as a 17-year-old, imposing a minimum age of 18. They’ve now scrapped that requirement, though drivers will still need to amass the required amount of superlicence points to join the grid.

“We did have the Max Verstappen clause of ‘you’re not allowed in until 18’ but the FIA have now changed that, and you can be 17,” Buxton said. “And so maybe Red Bull get to put Lindblad in at some point.”

What Christian Horner has said about Red Bull talent Arvid Lindblad

Red Bull have offered Williams £15.4m for Franco Colapinto, but if they don’t accept, they might pivot towards internal candidates. One scenario could see Hadjar get the seat alongside Tsunoda, with Lindblad ready to replace him if he fails to deliver.

Horner and Helmut Marko have repeatedly shown that they’re willing to make mid-season driver changes. Daniel Ricciardo was the latest victim, losing his RB seat with a quarter of the campaign to go.

Lindblad stepped up to F3 this year after finishing third in the Italian F4 championship in 2023. He won four of the 20 races to mark himself out as a top talent.

Speaking in Singapore, Horner said he was ‘particularly excited’ about Lindblad. And he’s also referred to the teenager as an ‘outstanding’ talent (via F1), which suggests he’ll be in the driver conversation as early as next year.