Red Bull confirm two drivers have contracts for 2026

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed that Isack Hadjar has a contract with the Austrian family for 2026, as does Max Verstappen. 

Verstappen has a long-term deal which concludes at the end of 2028, while Marko has revealed that Hadjar also has a contract for a Red Bull family seat next year. 

The French-Algerian has impressed in his debut season for Racing Bulls and has been heavily linked with a promotion to partner Verstappen next season, for the start of the new power unit regulations. 

Red Bull is yet to announce who will be alongside the four-time world champion, although Hadjar will at least have a seat within the organisation.

It is also yet to be announced who Racing Bulls will field, with Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Red Bull F2 junior Arvid Lindblad being the four drivers vying for the three seats.

According to Marko, no final decision over who will be handed each seat will be made until at least the end of October, potentially longer. 

"We deliberately want to take until the end of October, perhaps even longer, to have all the comparisons," Marko told Kleine Zeitung. 

"The only thing that's certain is that Verstappen and Hadjar have contracts. Where and in what position is still open, however."

Red Bull not giving up on Tsunoda

Despite increasing speculation linking Hadjar to Tsunoda's seat, Marko has stressed that the Milton Keynes-based team are not giving up on the Japanese driver. 

Tsunoda has scored just 10 points since replacing Lawson, although has started making strides in the right direction.

Marko is hopeful that new Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies will be able to extract performance from Tsunoda, having worked well with him in the sister team. 

As of yet, Mekies has not had time to work closely with the 25-year-old, who Marko has outlined must score regular points should he want to keep his seat.

"Since his promotion, Laurent Mekies has been very busy in all areas. He hasn't yet had the time to work on Yuki (Tsunoda) in detail," said Marko.

He later added: "But we all still have hope for Yuki. His goal for the rest of the year must be to finish in the points as often and consistently as possible. Then we'll see how things go next year."