Martin Brundle claims one F1 star should be axed - 'He's had his chance'

F1 broadcasting legend Martin Brundle has revealed the issues that Red Bull have with their 2026 driver lineup, listing the problems with all of their options.

Yuki Tsunoda's form in 2025 has been poor, only claiming 25 points since joining the main Red Bull team in April.

And that has led Brundle to claim that the Japanese racer has 'had his chance', but that there aren't too many options to replace him.

Tsunoda is set to be out of contract at the end of this year, and Helmut Marko has said that the decision will not be made surrounding Max Verstappen's 2026 team-mate until after the season.

Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson have both been in good form in the sister team at Racing Bulls, but New Zealander Lawson has already had a chance at Red Bull, and was sacked after just two races.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad was handed an official session in the RB21 at the recent Mexican Grand Prix, where he beat Tsunoda in FP1.

Speaking about the second seat at Red Bull, Brundle told the F1 Show: "Yuki has had his chances, to be honest. Obviously Honda is moving away from Red Bull as well, with that Japanese link. You’ve got to look to the future.

"The problem is, for next year, there’s such a dramatic change - the biggest ever in the history of F1 with the power units and the chassis - that you want experience, you want knowledge.

"I think Lawson is showing some potential and some upside. Hadjar, I don’t think you want to put him up into the main team. I think he needs another year.

"Lindblad is looking really good, but does he need a bit more experience? It’s a gamble," Brundle added.

"They’ll say ‘we refer you to Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel when we put young guys in, and if they’re good enough, they can handle it’.

"I suspect it’s a heavy discussion as to whether they’re going to take a risk on Hadjar in the main team and Lindblad in the Racing Bulls."

Where will Tsunoda race in 2026?

Tsunoda's form has had an upturn in recent race weekends, with the 25-year-old having scored 16 points in the last four events.

However, with him sat down in 17th in the drivers' championship, he has been the reason for Red Bull being fourth in the constructors' standings, despite the fact that Verstappen is challenging for the drivers' title.

Embarrassingly for Tsunoda, both Lawson and Hadjar are ahead of him in the standings, despite them being with the sister team.

But, there is something to be said of maintaining a settled team ahead of what is a huge year coming up with wholesale regulation changes sweeping into the sport, and Tsunoda is still in the mix for a 2026 seat with either the main or sister team.

If Tsunoda is released from the Red Bull family altogether, however, he is highly unlikely to be on the F1 grid in 2026, with no other viable options remaining for him for next season.

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