Isack Hadjar promotion call set to leave one Red Bull driver facing sack
Red Bull have reportedly decided that Isack Hadjar will partner Max Verstappen in F1 2026.
Isack Hadjar will reportedly be promoted to Red Bull for the 2026 F1 season.
The 20-year-old Frenchman is set to be rewarded for his excellent rookie F1 campaign by joining Max Verstappen at the Red Bull senior team next year, according to German publication Auto Motor und Sport.
Hadjar has enjoyed a standout first season in F1 after recovering from crashing out on the formation lap of his debut race at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Racing Bulls driver claimed his maiden podium with a superb third place at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix and sits ninth in the championship on 38 points.
Hadjar has managed 26 points more than Verstappen’s current stablemate Yuki Tsunoda who has scored just 12 points amid his ongoing struggles in the RB21. Tsunoda is now expected to lose his Red Bull drive at the end of the current campaign.
Hadjar told reporters at the Italian Grand Prix that he felt stepping up to Red Bull in 2026 would be "way easier" to manage than an instant promotion.
"At the start of the year, you were asking me if I was feeling ready to jump in the Red Bull this year, and the answer is still 'no'. I don't see the point of doing that right now," Hadjar said.
"But '26 is a different question because it's a brand-new start for the team, there won't be this talk of a 'second car thing'. This won't be a thing because it's a brand-new car for everyone.
"You actually will be in a phase where you need to direct the car into the right direction, so I think this is actually interesting."
Arvid Lindblad set for F1 promotion
AMuS also report that Hadjar’s vacant Racing Bulls seat will be filled by Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad, who has already been granted an FIA superlicence, currently lies seventh in the 2025 F2 standings and has two victories this year.
The 18-year-old Briton has made plenty of waves in junior formula racing in recent years and has already had a taste of F1 machinery, having made his FP1 debut for Red Bull at the British Grand Prix in July.
Lindblad finished 14th fastest in first practice at Silverstone and was just over half a second off Verstappen’s best lap time.
With both Hadjar and Lindblad poised for promotion, the final seat at Racing Bulls is set to go to either Tsunoda or Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda has until the end of the season to prove his worth to Red Bull but his future is in doubt with his contract expiring at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Lawson has enjoyed an upturn in form since his brutal demotion from Red Bull just two races into the 2025 season.
Since claiming his first points finish of the season with eighth place in Monaco, Lawson has gone on to feature in the top-10 a further three times, including a season’s best P6 in Austria.
Lawson has also outscored Tsunoda and is 8 points ahead of the Japanese driver in the world championship.
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