Red Bull have confirmed Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for the 2026 season, while British teenager Arvid Lindblad will make his Formula 1 debut with Racing Bulls.
Tsunoda will stay in the Red Bull fold as test and reserve driver.
Hadjar’s impressive rookie campaign at Racing Bulls, which included a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, has earned him a seat alongside Verstappen, who is aiming to win a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers’ title at Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Current Formula 2 driver Lindblad, who has a Swedish father and a mother of Indian heritage, will be the only debutant in the field next year as the 18-year-old joins Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson.
Hadjar, 21, said: “I’m so grateful to Oracle Red Bull Racing for giving me the opportunity and trust to race at the highest level of Formula 1.
“After all the hard work I have put in since joining the junior team, it’s such a great reward.
“I’ve had many ups and downs throughout my career, and they kept believing and pushing me.”
Isack Hadjar (L) steps up to the senior Red Bull team for 2026 as Arvid Lindblad joins the grid with the sister outfit
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said: “(Hadjar) has displayed great maturity and proved to be a quick learner. Most importantly, he has demonstrated the raw speed that is the number one requirement in this sport.
“We believe Isack can thrive alongside Max and produce the magic on track!”
Tsunoda has spent six seasons in Formula 1 but largely underperformed this year after replacing Lawson at Red Bull from the third race of the season in April.
The announcements on Tuesday complete the 22-driver field for 2026 which will see Cadillac join the grid amid new technical regulations where the pecking order could be shaken up.
Hadjar next driver to take on F1’s ‘hardest seat’
Hadjar will become Verstappen’s fourth team-mate in the space of 13 months after Tsunoda, Lawson and Sergio Perez, and the sixth in eight seasons since Daniel Ricciardo left the team at the end of 2018.
The seat next to the Dutchman was routinely described as the “hardest” in F1 by former Red Bull chief Christian Horner and, despite theoretically representing one of the grid’s few race-winning drives, has become something of a poisoned chalice for its occupant.
After Perez’s increasingly difficult four years in the seat were ended at the end of 2024, Lawson was promoted from Racing Bulls but lasted just the season-opening Australian and Chinese race weekends before being demoted back down to the sister team and Tsunoda promoted in his place.
But despite the 25-year-old’s greater F1 experience than his immediate predecessor, Tsunoda has similarly struggled.
Tsunoda has finished in the points just seven times in 21 Grand Prix appearances, with a best finish of sixth at September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and is 15th in the Drivers’ Championship, behind both Racing Bulls drivers.
He has outqualified Verstappen only once in either format, last Saturday for the Qatar Sprint, and is 366 points behind his reigning champion team-mate, who has won seven grands prix to take the title fight with the McLaren drivers down to the final round.
Hadjar, by contrast, has impressed in his rookie season at the top level.
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David Croft had Elvis on hand to help quiz Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Recovering well from the initial setback of spinning out in the wet on his inaugural F1 formation lap at the Australian Grand Prix in March, Hadjar has generally outperformed Lawson and is 10th in the championship after 10 GP points finishes – headlined by his stunning third at Zandvoort, the Red Bull junior team’s first F1 podium since 2021.
“This year with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls has been absolutely amazing, I’ve learnt a lot and secured a maiden podium. I feel I’m much better as a racing driver and a person, due to the team’s support and preparation,” said Hadjar.
“I feel ready to go to Oracle Red Bull Racing and I am happy and proud they feel the same. It’s an awesome move, to work with the best and learn from Max is something I can’t wait for.”
And while Hadjar will inevitably face a steep challenge to try and get close to the relentless Verstappen, his acclimatisation to the drive may be helped by the fact F1’s cars are changing radically from next year, thanks to wide-ranging new chassis and engine regulations.
Red Bull are also building their own engine for the first time, in partnership with Ford.
‘It was always my goal’ – Red Bull protege Lindblad realises childhood F1 dream
Lindblad was born in Virginia Water, Surrey in August 2007 and will be the fifth British driver on the 2026 grid.
He will become the youngest-ever Briton to race at motorsport’s top level when he starts the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6, and the fourth-youngest overall after Verstappen – the only 17-year-old to start a race – Lance Stroll and Kimi Antonelli.
Lindblad was signed to Red Bull’s famed young driver programme aged 13 in 2021 during a stellar karting career. After graduating to single-seater racing a year later, he won the prestigious Macau Formula 4 race in 2023 and then the Formula Regional Oceania Championship at the start of this year.
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Sky Sports’ Craig Slater discusses Racing Bulls new signing, British teenager Arvid Lindblad
After a single season of F3, where he won four times and finished fourth in the standings, Lindblad went straight into F2 for 2025 and became the feeder series’ youngest race winner, aged 17, by winning the Sprint race in Saudi Arabia in April.
He followed that up in June with a victory in the main Feature race in Spain and is sixth in this year’s standings heading into the final round in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Although the minimum age for an F1 superlicence is 18, Red Bull successfully applied to the FIA for a special exemption for their protege which allowed Lindblad to make his Friday practice debut at his home British Grand Prix in July, taking over Tsunoda’s car.
He returned to the RB21 in first practice in Mexico in October, this time in place of Verstappen, and impressed with the sixth-fastest time of that session, lapping a tenth of a second quicker than Tsunoda.
Little over a month on and now, having been confirmed as an F1 race driver for the first time, Lindblad said: “I’d like to thank everyone at VCARB for the opportunity.
“Since I started this journey at five years old, it was always my goal to be in Formula 1 so it’s a proud moment to take this step.
“I’m extremely grateful to the Red Bull junior programme and my personal team for their guidance, mentorship and belief; none of this would have been possible without their support.
“2026 will be a big challenge and I know there’s a lot to learn, but I’m ready to work closely with the team and rise to it. I can’t wait to get started, it’s going to be an exciting year!”
Alan Permane, Racing Bulls’ team principal, said of their 2026 line-up: “Liam has shown impressive performance and professionalism throughout this year, he has excelled when conditions have been at their hardest and we look forward to building on this in 2026, while Arvid’s rapid progression marks him as one of the standout young talents in the sport.
“Together, they form a strong and dynamic pairing, one that embodies the ambition and youthful spirit of VCARB as we enter a transformative new era for Formula 1.”
Lawson’s best form on his return to Racing Bulls has come since the summer, with a best result of fifth in Azerbaijan. He first raced for Racing Bulls, then known as AlphaTauri, in place of an injured Ricciardo for five races in 2023 before replacing the Australian full-time from the United States Grand Prix of October 2024.
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Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson discusses his brief time at Red Bull and being team-mates with four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Tsunoda retains reserve role
Tsunda staying in a back-up role at Red Bull will allow the Japanese driver to continue his F1 association, even if he will be off the grid after five seasons. Honda, the Japanese driver’s long-term backers, are moving to Aston Martin in 2026.
Mekies, who has worked with Tsunoda at both Red Bull teams, praised the 25-year-old’s development as a driver and his contribution to the company’s F1 efforts since 2021.
“Everyone in the sport would agree it is impossible not to like Yuki, his personality is infectious, and he has become a very special part of the Red Bull family,” he said.
“On behalf of everyone at Red Bull, I thank him for what he has contributed so far and we know he will provide invaluable support to the 2026 projects moving forwards.”
The 2025 F1 season concludes with the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
