Red Bull senior motorsport adviser Dr Helmut Marko has given the timeline for when the team will decide which driver will partner Max Verstappen in 2026.
Even after dismissing Sergio Perez at the end of 2024, Red Bull are yet to settle on which of its junior drivers will take the second seat in its senior team next year, given the difficulty in driving the RB21 car design.
Kiwi Liam Lawson - who initially won that position at the end of last year – was given just two races, before he was switched out with former teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Herald understands Red Bull received an eight-figure payment from engine supplier Honda to facilitate that switch, after Lawson had struggled in the season’s opening three races – two grands prix and a sprint.
Instead, Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls, where he has begun to rebuild his season, and scored points finishes in Monaco, Austria, Belgium and Hungary before the Formula One summer break.
However, Tsunoda has also failed to match the expectations set of him, and scored just seven points in the 13 grands prix since. Furthermore, given Honda’s contract with Red Bull expires at the end of the season, Tsunoda cannot be guaranteed a place at the team on commercial grounds beyond this season.
Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar has been arguably the success story of 2025, and on Monday (NZ time) scored his first podium in Formula One by finishing third at the Dutch Grand Prix.
While early indications had been that a decision over the 2026 lineup would take place at the end of the season, as it was last year, the Herald understands that Red Bull aren’t opposed to moving early.
That understanding has been backed up by Dr Marko.
“We’ve extended the options, or rather, the drivers have extended them with us,” Marko told Sky Germany at Zandvoort. “So, around September or October, we want to have a few more races to observe, and then we’ll make the decisions.”
Should that decision be made by the end of October, drivers would have a maximum of five races to prove their worth to Red Bull.
Even before his podium finish, Hadjar was believed to be the front runner to partner Verstappen, having excelled in his debut campaign.
After Zandvoort, Hadjar has scored 37 points from the season’s 15 races, 17 more than Lawson and 25 more than Tsunoda.
Despite his promising form, though, Herald sources have previously indicated that Lawson will remain with Racing Bulls for 2026 at least.
Given Formula One introduces a revolutionary set of design regulations next year, it is understood that Lawson is wanted to remain where he is as a senior figure at Racing Bulls, and lead the team into the new era.
It is also understood that the door is not closed on Tsunoda either, given Red Bull’s move to replace former team principal and chief executive Christian Horner with ex-Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies.
Mekies has worked with all three contenders during his time in charge of Red Bull’s sister side, and is renowned for his man management.
The Herald also understands that, despite what had been communicated by Red Bull, another driver switch mid-season is not off the cards.
That switch would mean whichever driver is to partner Verstappen in 2026 moves up a place early, with a spot at Racing Bulls to be freed up for junior driver Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad is highly regarded within Red Bull, and earlier this year was fast-tracked into getting his Formula One super licence at the age of 17, in case he needed to be promoted up from Formula Two early.
The Formula One season continues with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.