After Red Bull pushed back a self-imposed deadline to decide on their 2026 driver line-up, Sky Sports F1 assesses the implications of the delay.

The team had for quite a while signposted the Mexico City Grand Prix as the event after which a final decision would come, but team principal Laurent Mekies said after Sunday's race that there is "no need to rush" with four rounds of the 2025 season remaining.

That means the wait goes on to find out who will drive alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull next season, and which pairing will be waiting in the wings at junior squad Racing Bulls.

The contenders for the three unconfirmed seats are Verstappen's current team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, and 18-year-old Brit Arvid Lindblad.

Hadjar's strong rookie campaign appears to have guaranteed him a 2026 seat within the Red Bull system that many expect to be alongside Verstappen, while there has been strong speculation that Lindblad will make the jump from F2 to F1.

That appeared to point to Tsunoda and Lawson battling for the final seat, but if Mekies is to be taken at his word, Red Bull's decision-making process is not as far down the line as has been reported.

A Tsunoda revival?

After replacing Lawson just two rounds into the season, Tsunoda's hopes of remaining on the grid in 2026, let alone keeping his Red Bull seat, seemed to be fading fast during a mid-season streak of seven races in which he failed to finish in the points.

However, there has been some improvement since then in the form of three top 10 finishes at the last six races, with a fourth taken away from him through no fault of his own in Mexico.

Despite Tsunoda finishing outside the points on Sunday, Mekies, who has a close bond with the Japanese driver having worked with him at Racing Bulls before they were both promoted to Red Bull, was full of praise for the 25-year-old.

"Yuki had his best weekend in a long time," Mekies said. "It's one of the reasons why we wanted to take a bit more time before we make a decision on drivers. Yuki is making steps forward. The other kids are making steps forward as well. So, we have no reason to rush a decision."

However, Sky Sports F1 pundit and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve expressed surprise at Mekies' comments.

"I don't understand how they can say he had a good weekend," Villeneuve told The F1 Show. "It was better than maybe other weekends he's had, but is it a good weekend? He's still very far off his team-mate, he's not bringing anything to the table either in pace, points, or helping Max in the championship.

"And he has a lot of experience. We've seen the best of him. He's already on the way down. It seems that they're overprotecting him for some reason. You can't say that was a good weekend. It was maybe his least bad, but it wasn't a good weekend."

Too soon for Hadjar?

A factor in many assuming Tsunoda's Red Bull career was coming to an end was the brilliant mid-season form of Hadjar, with Lawson also producing some strong displays.

A maiden podium for the French driver at the Dutch Grand Prix in late August made Hadjar the heavy favourite to join Verstappen in 2026, but zooming out, his form either side of that result hasn't been hugely impressive.

His best results in the five races either side of the podium were two 10th-place finishes, and Lawson has been a match for him, especially over race distance, since early summer.

While Hadjar has already exceeded expectations and established himself as a major talent, the run of form certainly raises questions as to whether he is ready to take on the huge challenge of driving alongside Verstappen next year.

Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said: "The problem is for next year is that there's such a dramatic chance, the biggest ever in the history of F1 with the power units and the chassis, that you want experience and knowledge.

"I think Lawson is showing some potential and some upside. Hadjar, ideally, I don't think you want to put him up into the main team. I think he needs another year."

Lindblad makes noise in Mexico practice

Lindblad has endured a relatively quiet first season in Formula 2, but we saw the feeder series' standings largely ignored by F1 teams last year as the likes of Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman were fast-tracked onto the grid despite modest points totals.

The British-Swedish teenager has shown flashes of speed, most notably with a win in Barcelona, but perhaps more importantly, he put in a very impressive display in first practice as most of the teams fulfilled one of their obligatory young driver sessions in Mexico.

While there are many unknowns with a practice timesheet, Lindblad finishing comfortably ahead of the eight other stand-ins in sixth place, and being almost a tenth up on Tsunoda in the other Red Bull, was notable.

Both Mekies and Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport advisor who plays an influential role in deciding the team's driver line-up, were impressed.

Marko told Sky Sports F1: "It was a very difficult situation. He was told, 'don't do anything wrong, don't crash the car'. But he still delivered and was the fastest rookie and I have to say his technical feedback was also impressive, so we are very happy with him."

Mekies added: "I think he did a great job. It's so difficult to step up in FP1. It's very different to test days. You don't have many tyres, you don't have many laps.

"He did just a very good job. You have seen it on the timesheets by yourself. He was very calm. He gave all the right feedback. He didn't put the foot wrong. He didn't break the car. Honestly, he has impressed us on that FP1, no question about that."

While he was also impressed by Lindblad, Brundle believes a Racing Bulls seat would be the ceiling for the teenager in 2026.

Brundle said: "Lindblad is looking really good but does he need a bit more experience? It's a gamble but they'll say, 'we refer you to Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel when we put young guys in, and if they're good enough, they can handle it.'

"I suspect it's a heavy discussion as to whether they're going to take a risk on Hadjar in the main team and Lindblad in the Racing Bulls."

What will happen next?

Perhaps the biggest clue on the motivation behind Red Bull's delayed decision came from Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane.

"Both teams are in a reasonably tight Constructors' (Championship) battle, so us not talking about drivers for next year is helping that stability," Permane said.

Red Bull are just 10 points behind Ferrari - and nine points back from Mercedes - in the battle for second in the constructors' standings, while Racing Bulls have three teams within 12 points of them as they seek to hold onto sixth.

Keeping all four drivers fully committed until the end of the season could be crucial to securing the best possible finishes for each team, and is perhaps an example of the smart leadership Mekies has brought to the squad since replacing Christian Horner in July.

If that is the case, it's fair to assume that Hadjar probably remains most likely to partner Verstappen in 2026, and that Lawson and Tsunoda are battling for a drive alongside Lindblad at Racing Bulls.

But it won't be Mekies who gives that away before an official decision is made.

"We accept that everyone would like us to decide," he said. "We are not in a rush.

"We will take all the time we need. Give these guys as many chances as they can have to demonstrate on track. We will do what's best."

Formula 1's thrilling title race continues in Brazil with a Sprint weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on November 7-9, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

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