Red Bull told NOT to announce F1 driver lineup

Red Bull have been told not to announce their driver lineup this season for both the main F1 team and junior squad Racing Bulls.

With just four rounds left in the 2025 campaign, the energy drink giants have only confirmed reigning champion Max Verstappen as part of their 2026 lineup, with his future team-mate and both Racing Bulls seats yet to be announced.

Helmut Marko previously announced that a decision would be made after the Mexican Grand Prix, but since that deadline has been and gone, both Marko and Red Bull principal Laurent Mekies have stated that they don't want the driver decision to become a distraction from Verstappen's current title fight.

Instead, it is understood that a decision will not be made until after the Qatar GP at the earliest, with the news potentially not reaching the public's ears until the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

But 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve has gone one step further, suggesting that Red Bull hold off on announcing their plans, particularly with regards to rookie Isack Hadjar.

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Speaking during the Sky F1 show podcast following the Mexican GP last time out, F1 pundit Martin Brundle stated that he felt Hadjar needed another year in the junior team before making the jump up to be Verstappen's team-mate, especially with the new regulations coming in for 2026.

Villeneuve perhaps felt a decision from Red Bull on Hadar's future could be premature, suggesting that the team should instead wait until just before the start of next season to confirm where the rookie will be racing.

“For the main team, for Hadjar, the drivers there are signed to Red Bull, at the last minute they can be switched from one team to the other, so they don’t need to announce it.

“They probably know that they want Hadjar in that car but why announce it? If maybe they change their mind in January, they can. There’s no point announcing it, he’s driving for Red Bull somewhere and that’s what matters.”

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