Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane says the team is in no rush to reveal its 2026 Formula 1 driver line-up, leaving Liam Lawson and others waiting to know their futures.
Only Max Verstappen is officially confirmed for next season. Hadjar is widely expected to move up and partner him, a promotion that would leave two seats at Racing Bulls.
Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Formula 2 prospect Arvid Lindblad are all under consideration as the Faenza-based squad fights to defend sixth in the Constructors’ standings.
The margin is slim: 10 points over Aston Martin and 12 over a resurgent Haas. Despite claims the looming rule changes might be slowing the decision, Permane dismissed the idea.
“No, not at all. It’s nothing to do with the new regulations,” he said when speaking to media including MotorsportWeek.
“We are in a very tight battle ourselves [for sixth], but also, Red Bull are in a very tight battle in their Constructors’ Championship [battle for second].
“We just want to have some stability, and that may well go on right until the end of the season. So you may not find out until Monday morning after Abu Dhabi.
“I don’t know exactly when it’ll be, but that’s the reason. It’s nothing to do with next year’s rules.”
Even so, Permane acknowledged that experience will carry weight when the final decision is made.
“You always want the experienced driver. We see with James [Vowles at Williams] and his two super-experienced drivers, they hit the ground running pretty much every weekend.
“And that’s not to take anything away from our guys, but experience always counts. Nothing beats pace, obviously. So you have to have that pace there. It will undoubtedly help for next year.
“On the other hand, you could look at it and say, well, everyone’s starting from a clean sheet of paper.
“No one has experienced these regulations. So I suspect there’ll be a huge amount of simulator work being done – it’s ongoing now – and once the season finishes, that will only ramp up. So yeah, it definitely is important.”
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