Isack Hadjar is to be promoted from Racing Bulls to the full Red Bull team for the 2026 Formula 1 season, according to reports.
The 20-year-old is set to be rewarded for his sterling performances across his debut season with the team’s satellite squad, as per German outlet Auto Motor und Sport.
Hadjar currently sits ninth in the Drivers’ standings, having taken his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix last month, with 38 points, 26 ahead of Yuki Tsunoda on 12.
The Japanese driver has scored just nine of those alongside Max Verstappen, having struggled to get close to the Dutchman in the RB21, since joining from the Japanese Grand Prix.
Hadjar’s stock has continued to rise as the season progresses, leading to inevitable speculation he would be in line to take the much-maligned second seat alongside Verstappen.
Now it appears that the Frenchman is a step closer to the role, as the team prepares to enter 2026 with a new powertrain, in collaboration with Ford.
Lindblad slated for Racing Bulls bow amid Hadjar Red Bull promotion
It would leave Tsunoda set to be left without even the option of returning to his former Faenza stables, with another rookie apparently being handed the vacancy left by Hadjar.
Arvid Lindblad, a Red Bull junior driver who currently competes in Formula 2 with Campos Racing, is, according to the same report, set to take Hadjar’s seat alongside Liam Lawson.
The Brit, who has two F2 wins to his name this year, already has an FIA Super Licence, having been given special dispensation to acquire one despite being 17, a year younger than the rules stipulate.
Lindblad, who sits seventh in the F2 standings, has already been handed the keys to the team’s current VCARB 02 challenger, having taken part in FP1 at the British Grand Prix.
The news would come as a blow to Tsunoda, who was said to have time to salvage his chances of securing the seat for next season by both senior advisor Helmut Marko and Team Principal Laurent Mekies.
But Marko had given Hadjar a glowing assessment to Kleine Zeitung recently, saying he is a “fast guy,” adding: “He certainly has the mental strength to hold his own against Verstappen.”
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