Red Bull keeps Tsunoda waiting amid Palou chatter

Yuki Tsunoda will have to wait longer to learn if he remains part of Red Bull’s Formula 1 plans.

Helmut Marko confirmed in Zandvoort that the team has pushed back any decision about 2026. “We have extended the options and will observe a few more races," he said.

"We want to make a decision in September or October,” he told Sport1. The comment followed a swirl of speculation that Alex Palou could be drafted in. The IndyCar ace, his management, and Chip Ganassi Racing all denied a deal, but Palou’s latest response was telling.

“You never say no to something that you haven’t heard,” he smiled to the Indianapolis Star. “It’s good to get rumours. I think it actually moves even more people behind our championship – maybe for a different reason – but more people know about what we did this year, which is great.”

Seasoned paddock reporter Ralf Bach suspects Marko already knows which way he will go. “It’s good to say to the public ‘We’re still taking a close look’,” he told f1-insider.com. “But I also know Helmut Marko a little bit. When he has his favorites, they’re so firmly entrenched that he wants to bring them into Formula 1.”

For many, the obvious candidate is Isack Hadjar. Red Bull is said to worry he might wilt against Verstappen like Tsunoda and Liam Lawson before him, but Bach thinks that caution is misplaced.

“You can’t keep them in cotton wool forever,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take risks.” He also tips 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad for a promotion to Racing Bulls. “Hadjar will likely be promoted, and then Tsunoda will have to find a new cockpit,” Bach predicted.

“That means, in my opinion, Verstappen will drive with Hadjar and Lindblad will be at Racing Bulls next year, alongside Liam Lawson.”