Red Bull F1 chief 'interested' in McLaren driver as 2026 lineup unclear

Helmut Marko, Generic, 2025, Belgian GP — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

Red Bull chief 'interested' in McLaren driver as 2026 lineup unclear

Red Bull have struggled to find Max Verstappen a team-mate

By Chris Deeley.

Sunday 28 September 2025 19:00

Red Bull are still looking at their driver lineup for 2026, with an unexpected name drawing the attention of Helmut Marko.

Racing Bulls and Red Bull have cycled through a number of promising drivers in recent years, but have struggled to find Max Verstappen a reliable partner of late.

Verstappen has had Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda as team-mates so far this year, with Lawson and rookie Isack Hadjar now driving for Racing Bulls, but despite the chopping and changing (of perhaps because of it), the reigning champion has scored all but 17 of the team's 272 points through 17 races this season.

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Reinforcements could be arriving from F2 sooner rather than later though, with a McLaren driver catching the eye of infamous talent evaluator Marko.

Marko hints at Dunne interest

Dunne has won two feature races so far this year, but has also caught the eye for the penalties he's received from race stewards throughout the season.

The youngster lost a win at Spa for a starting procedure violation, and has also been dinged by the stewards on multiple occasions for collisions with Victor Martins.

PlanetF1 report that Marko has begun to 'establish a relationship' with Dunne and his representatives with a view to a potential 2026 and, when asked by the website about the Irishman, Marko said Red Bull are “always interested in fast and confident drivers, and Dunne is a fast and confident driver.”

Red Bull Formula 1 Helmut Marko Alex Dunne