Red Bull still have to decide which drivers to place in the two available Formula 1 seats that they have for the 2026 season.
Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar are guaranteed to be competing for them next year, but who will drive for the Visa Cash App RB team, in all likelihood, is unknown. The difficulty of Red Bull’s decision is highlighted by how late it’s going to be made.
Heading into October, they haven’t even teased an announcement. It means that one of Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, or Arvid Lindblad is going to be left very disappointed at the end of December. The latter is competing in Formula 2 and may need another season to develop in the team’s eyes.
Although it may look tricky, Red Bull’s 2026 driver line-up choice is obvious and may end up involving a surprise or two. They’re playing their cards close to their chest currently. Red Bull are testing Lindblad’s ‘physical endurance’ and if he fits the bill, he is expected to make the jump at the age of 18, much like Kimi Antonelli did recently.
READ MORE: Racing Bulls haven’t ruled out bringing one of their old driver line-ups back together for 2026
Red Bull think Arvid Lindblad has ‘maturity’ like Max Verstappen
With Red Bull close to releasing the ‘flawless’ Lawson, the door could be open for Lindblad to become one of the top five youngest drivers in history. He’s currently seventh in the Formula 2 standings, with two events remaining.
He also ran impressively during FP1 at the British Grand Prix this season, finishing 14th without any significant errors behind the wheel.
According to the official F1 website, Red Bull think Lindblad already has ‘maturity’ ahead of his debut, which is something Helmut Marko also saw in Verstappen back in 2014, when he mentioned that he was already three years ahead of himself, mentally.
“As I said: mentally he is past 20 years old! And yes, we work with him intensively,” he told the F1 website. “He will do some Friday runs. Not long ago, he did a 400 km test in Italy, he’s in the simulator whenever possible, and he’s working on his physique and psychology with top experts.
“Yes, some things became visible that we will have to address for the 2015 season. Having said that, he is getting the perfect ‘schooling’ before he gets on the grid.”
READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya anxious over Racing Bulls line-up decision Helmut Marko has made ‘by force’
How did Max Verstappen fare during his rookie Formula 1 season in 2015?
After being thrown in at the deep end at the age of 17, Verstappen handled his rookie season impressively. It’s important to remember he only had one season’s worth of experience in single-seater cars before taking the big step.
He scored points in his second race at Malaysia, and would manage eight top 10 finishes in nine races towards the end of the campaign, with a best finish of fourth at the Circuit of the Americas.
Overall, it was good enough for 12th in the drivers’ championship, but more importantly, it showed Red Bull that he was ready to drive for them.
Just five weekends into the following season, he was called up to replace Daniil Kvyat, and the rest is history.