The new timeframe for Red Bull’s big F1 2026 driver decison

Having initially stated that Red Bull would evaluate its driver options after the summer break, Helmut Marko has pushed that back to October for a “few more races to observe”.

His decision came in the wake of Isack Hadjar’s impressive fourth place in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, which set the Racing Bulls driver up for a maiden podium finish where he was just two seconds behind Max Verstappen at the chequered flag.

Yuki Tsunoda: Red Bull, Racing Bulls or bust?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Red Bull has yet to confirm its full line-up for the F1 2026 season, which, as the only organisation with two Formula 1 teams, has a knock-on effect on sister team Racing Bulls.

Of the four seats available, only reigning F1 World Champion Verstappen is confirmed with his team-mate, and the two seats at Racing Bulls, undecided.

Yuki Tsunoda currently sits in the second Red Bull RB21, but he’s scored just nine points in his 13 starts despite being an early replacement for the beleaguered Liam Lawson when Red Bull backed him to not only perform better than the New Zealander, but also help develop the RB21.

Although Tsunoda did break his seven-race point-less run with a P9 at the Dutch Grand Prix, his performance was overshadowed by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar’s podium.

The Frenchman, Tsunoda’s main rival for the Red Bull race seat, qualified fourth before racing his way to third place to record the team’s first podium under the Racing Bulls name.

It had Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko conceding they need more time to decide the F1 2026 line for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.

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“We’ve extended the options, or rather, the drivers have extended them with us,” Marko told Sky Deutschland in Zandvoort.

“So, around September or October, we want to have a few more races to observe, and then we’ll make the decisions.”

The decision also includes Red Bull Formula 2 driver Arvid Lindblad amid speculation that Red Bull line up could be Verstappen and Hadjar with Lindblad joining Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls. Tsunoda would be out in the cold.

The Japanese driver, though, isn’t giving up.

“Maybe Helmut’s thinking in the background. I never know what he’s thinking, to be honest,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com.

“But for now, I understand he’s looking for me to show the performance. I think last two races, actually after I got upgrades, there’s some recognition from that performance. Actually, there’s a huge difference before that.

“And I think that helps him and myself to give a bit more time to see how this situation evolves.

“I think he supported me quite a lot. But obviously, he’s also quite a straightforward guy. He’s here for the team and he wants to have points as much as possible. So, I need to perform for sure.

“But if I understand it correctly, he’s still waiting a bit of time to define what’s good for Red Bull. And I think let’s see for Racing Bulls or whatever. They’re performing currently quite well. And it’s a team that I have been for a long time.

“So, obviously, my main goal is to still stick with Red Bull. But let’s see.”

Pressed on whether he should start speaking with rival teams given the rumours, he replied: “I’ll leave that with my team, my manager, I just focus on myself and my performance.

“My priority is to stay with Red Bull and to show [better] performance as much as possible. That’s my only focus.

“So, yeah, it’s not my job anyway to search around. My job is to drive fast and score points and that’s just the only things I’m working on.

“They’ll do their thing, and I’m sure my performance will help anyway in those things.”

Of the four drivers in the Red Bull and Racing Bulls stables, Verstappen is third on the log with 205 points, Hadjar is 10th in the Drivers’ standings on 37, Lawson is 15th with 20 points and Tsunoda is 19th with 12.

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