Max Verstappen's F1 team-mate plans revealed as far as 2028

Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Max Verstappen team-mate plans revealed as far as 2028

Isack Hadjar is joining the team for 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 2 January 2026 18:58

Red Bull F1 boss Laurent Mekies has revealed what his team lineup could look like as far forward as 2028.

Isack Hadjar is being promoted up into the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen in 2026, following a stellar rookie season with the sister team Racing Bulls.

He will become the third driver to hold that position in the last 12 months, after Liam Lawson was axed after just two race weekends and Yuki Tsunoda after 22.

Article continues under video

But Red Bull's recent hiring and firing of drivers seems to be coming to an end, with Mekies hinting that Hadjar will be at the team for multiple seasons.

While suggesting that he needs to continue his progression as a racer, Mekies refused to put any kind of points or position expectation on Hadjar for 2026, clearly expressing his desire to have the Frenchman at the team as a long-term project.

Verstappen has been with the team since 2016 and has carried them to multiple world championships, but Hadjar is his seventh team-mate in that timeframe.

"Isack has had an unbelievable first season," Mekies told F1.com. "There is no doubt that in terms of starting point - so where he started in January - the starting point was outstanding.

"Then we are strong believers not only in the raw talent, but also the ability of the drivers to develop. We have seen so many champions developing through the years, doing things that they had not done in the car a few races before.

"We've seen that with Isack this year too. We’ve seen him making stuff in the car that he was not doing three races before."

Speaking about the expectations for Hadjar next season, the Red Bull team principal continued: "We expect - we would like him to continue onto that path. We don't see it as a landing point.

"We see it as another start for him to continue to develop, to continue to impress us, to continue to surprise us. And you will expect that in the second year. You will expect that in the third year, perhaps in the fourth year. So that's a little bit the journey for us together."

Can Red Bull compete for constructors' title in 2026?

The reason for Red Bull's decision to swap Tsunoda out was based on the fact that they were only able to finish third in the constructors' championship, despite the fact Verstappen challenged for drivers' championship success.

Tsunoda only scored 30 points across 22 race weekends, while Verstappen won eight grands prix in the same car and came within two points of the title.

While Mekies would not be drawn on expectations for Hadjar in 2026, if they have any chance of keeping up with their rivals for the constructors' title, he will have to be regularly scoring points.

2026 sees a complete shake up of the regulations in F1, and that could give Red Bull an opportunity to more fiercely challenge the likes of McLaren and Mercedes for constructors' success.

Time will tell whether they will make any ground with the implementation of the new regulations, while Hadjar's form will be carefully watched by fans, pundits and the team alike.

F1 HEADLINES: Horner in team takeover 'bid' as Ferrari nightmare could get worse

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Isack Hadjar Laurent Mekies