Red Bull are planning to make a decision on their 2026 Formula 1 driver line-ups within the next month. As it stands, only reigning world champion Max Verstappen is locked in for next year.
Laurent Mekies is open to keeping Yuki Tsunoda as his teammate, should he sustain the improvement he showed in Azerbaijan. But Helmut Marko is more inclined to promote Isack Hadjar, who has, based on results, been the second-best driver in the Red Bull stable this year.
Meanwhile, Liam Lawson is fighting for his Formula 1 future. If Hadjar does get the call-up, then Lawson and Tsunoda could battle for one Racing Bulls seat.
That’s because Arvid Lindblad is likely to step up from Formula 2. Lindblad, 18, is currently seventh in the feeder category.
Arvid Lindblad’s Mugello test allowed Red Bull to gauge his physical capabilities
As reported by Motorsport Italy, Red Bull joined Ferrari and Haas at the Mugello circuit in Italy late this week. While the other two teams were testing Pirelli’s 2026 tyre range, the Bulls were putting Lindblad through his paces.
The teenager made his FP1 debut at the British Grand Prix earlier this year and further outings are planned before the end of the season. Lindblad started his 2025 testing programme in a two-year-old Racing Bulls car at Imola and has carried out ‘comprehensive’ running since.
Mugello made its only appearance on the calendar in 2020, but Red Bull pencilled in a two-day test in their 2019 car because they wanted to assess Lindblad’s ‘ability to rely on aerodynamic load’, regarded as one of the most ‘complex’ challenges for a rookie.
It was also supposed to be a test of his ‘physical endurance’ – Charles Leclerc called Mugello a ‘difficult’ circuit because of the load it puts on a driver’s neck. It’s worth noting that the predominantly wet weather limited the speed that the youngster could take through the sweeping, undulating bends.
Lindblad has received an FIA superlicence exemption, which would allow him to race if one of the other four Red Bull-contracted drivers were unavailable. The biggest threat is a race ban for Verstappen, who has nine penalty points.
Could the Formula 2 calendar hurt Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls chances?
Red Bull hope to finalise their line-ups around the USA and Mexico double-header (19 and 26 October). Lindblad won’t have another chance to impress in F2 before then.
Thus, his performance at Mugello, where he had a chance to demonstrate his aptitude in the rain, could be crucial to his chances.
There’s still a possibility that Lawson and Tsunoda form the 2026 Racing Bulls line-up. Some doubts remain over whether Lindblad is ready to step up to F1, or may benefit instead from a second F2 season.
Lindblad’s Campos team have signed Nikola Tsolov for next year, which confirms that either the Briton or teammate Pepe Marti will be moving on in some capacity.