Helmut Marko reveals talented driver snub for 2026 F1 seat

Senior Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that the team will not be handing an F1 seat to a talented young driver for 2026.

While Max Verstappen is locked into the team's number one seat, his 2026 team-mate's identity is yet to be decided – with that uncertainty knocking on to the Racing Bulls lineup too.

Yuki Tsunoda is set to be out of contract at the end of the 2025 season, and has not performed well in the seat since joining the main team in April.

He has only scored 25 points from 19 race weekends so far, and that has meant that Red Bull are only fourth in the constructors' championship despite Verstappen challenging for the drivers' title.

It has led to rumours that a number of young drivers could be in line to replace Tsunoda, including Racing Bulls stars Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

But an external candidate has also been mentioned in rumours regarding the seat, with F2 star Alex Dunne having become available after leaving the McLaren young driver programme.

Dunne has taken part in two practice sessions this season in F1 with McLaren, and has also achieved two wins and seven podiums in F2 in 2025.

However, Marko is apparently not ready to sign off on the 19-year-old. "He’s not an option for us," Marko said of Dunne, while speaking to Austria’s Kleine Zeitung.

READ MORE: F1 2025 Standings: How far is Verstappen behind Piastri and Norris after US Grand Prix?

Who will fill Red Bull's four F1 seats?

Of course, talk of a Hadjar or Lawson promotion would mean that there would be a seat open at sister team Racing Bulls for 2026.

Hadjar, Lawson and Tsunoda are all set to be out of contract as it stands at the end of 2025, so that means all three seats are strictly speaking up for grabs. Marko has said that the team will make a decision following this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

One option if Hadjar does get promoted as many expect he might, would be to hand 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad an opportunity at Racing Bulls alongside Lawson. The British-Swedish racer has also won two races in F2 throughout 2025, and is one of the most exciting prospects in Red Bull's driver academy.

Marko was asked by the above publication whether Lindblad could make it in F1. "Generally speaking, yes," he said.

"He's just younger than Hadjar. And we've seen in the past that age plays a role in Formula 1. But generally speaking, he's another one of our hopes. We'll see him in the car this year, too."

Lindblad will take to the track at the Mexican GP in Verstappen's RB21 for FP1, which could be a good test for how he would fare in the sport in 2026.

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