Isack Hadjar can cope with Max Verstappen as teammate - Helmut Marko

Isack Hadjar looks ever more likely to line up alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026, with Helmut Marko openly backing the 20-year-old French rookie.

Fresh from a debut podium at Zandvoort in the junior Racing Bulls, Hadjar drew rare praise from Red Bull’s notoriously demanding advisor. “He certainly has the mental strength to hold his own against Verstappen,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.

He added that Hadjar shows “great emotional regulation in tight situations”, a trait he believes is “largely no longer visible in Formula 1.” The verdict leaves Yuki Tsunoda increasingly vulnerable. “Yeah. That’s what I’m trying to do every race,”

Tsunoda admitted at Monza when asked if he is now driving to save his Red Bull future. “Obviously, whether it’s enough or not, that’s not for me to decide. But I just keep pushing.”

Hadjar, meanwhile, is already looking ahead. “I don’t see the point in being there now,” he said of a premature Red Bull move. “But next year will be different. It’s a fresh start for the team, and there won’t be any more talk about the second car, the second driver.

“Of course I’m thinking about driving for Red Bull Racing next year, but there are still nine races left, and I want to prove that I deserve my place here with the Racing Bulls first.”

He admitted there have been no personal talks yet with Marko or team boss Laurent Mekies, “but to be honest, I’m not in a hurry.” The expected shuffle would see Hadjar move up while teenage junior Arvid Lindblad very likely replaces him at Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson thought to be safe for 2026.

“Fundamentally, we want to stick with our driver pool,” Marko confirmed. Still, not everyone in the paddock envies a Red Bull call.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s father Lincoln Oliveira told UOL Esporte: “Drivers are afraid they’ll have to take Tsunoda’s place. There are even jokes: ‘If Red Bull calls, I turn my phone off.’”

Former Racing Bulls boss Franz Tost, meanwhile, doubts Tsunoda has a fallback. “Yuki is very, very talented,” he told Speed Week, “but he still needs good results, otherwise I don’t see a future for him.”