Helmut Marko denies wild rumour about possible Max Verstappen team-mate

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has definitively dismissed wild rumours surrounding a name recently thrown into the mix as a future Max Verstappen team-mate. After all the speculation surrounding Verstappen over the first half of the season, in particular the links with a possible switch to Mercedes, the four-time F1 champion confirmed at the last race in Hungary that he would be remaining with Red Bull for 2026. The main topic of conversation now switches to who will be in the second seat alongside Verstappen for next season when the new regulations are introduced. Liam Lawson was handed the initial responsibility at the start of this season but was jettisoned after two grands prix, returning to Racing Bulls, where he is again starting to show the talent that resulted in him being initially selected. Yuki Tsunoda was then finally given his opportunity, but the Japanese driver has struggled over the following 12 races, scoring a miserable seven points, raising a question mark over whether he will continue beyond this season. Alongside Lawson at Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar has performed superbly since his debut race heartbreak in the Australian Grand Prix in which he crashed out on the formation lap. The French-Algerian driver has earned considerable plaudits en route to scoring his 22 points. Marko has conceded to being "positively surprised" by Hadjar this season, who is fast earning himself the favourite's tag for likely promotion should Tsunoda fail to improve over the remaining 10 grands prix of the season, and a further change is decided. In the background is rising star Arvid Lindblad, who has performed strongly in his debut F2 campaign this season, although he finds himself off the pace in the championship fight, trailing leader Leonardo Fornaroli by 62 points. Nevertheless, speaking to Kleine Zeitung, Marko claims that "everything is right", adding: "We are fully on track with him, and he will also drive for us several more times this year", referring to TPC outings. One outside candidate who emerged this week is Alex Palou, a three-time IndyCar champion who is on course to add a fourth this season. Marko, however, gave short shrift to the prospect of Palou being in contention when asked, definitively stating, "That's not true". As for the team's more immediate goals for the remainder of this season, following a difficult campaign for the team in which Verstappen has only been on the podium once in the past seven races, Marko was pragmatic. "We want to be as much as possible at the front," said the veteran Austrian. "Whether victories are possible is another question."