Hadjar to partner Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026 as Tsunoda loses F1 seat

French driver Hadjar was rewarded on Tuesday for a debut campaign which has seen him regularly outpace teammate Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls. The highlight so far was the 21-year-old Hadjar's third-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, which made him the fifth youngest podium finisher in F1 history.

“It’s an awesome move, to work with the best and learn from Max is something I can’t wait for,” Hadjar said in a statement.

Lindblad will be the only rookie driver on the grid next year as the F2 driver takes Hadjar's old Racing Bulls seat alongside Lawson.

Hadjar's tough task

Hadjar has the daunting task of keeping up with Verstappen, who will have his fourth different teammate in just over a year. As Verstappen cycles through teammates, the Red Bull car has developed a reputation for being difficult to handle for anyone other than the Dutch defending champion.

After Red Bull dropped Sergio Perez at the end of 2024, New Zealander Lawson lasted just two races before being sent back to Racing Bulls and Japan's Tsunoda was promoted in his place.

Tsunoda has a best finish of sixth in 21 races for Red Bull — Verstappen has won seven in that time — ahead of Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He's been in F1 for five seasons but has yet to finish on the podium and has a tendency to vent his frustrations over the radio. Tsunoda stays with Red Bull as a reserve driver.

The decision to drop Tsunoda comes at the same time as Red Bull starts a new engine partnership with Ford instead of Honda, which backed Tsunoda during his junior career.

Lindblad joins F1's Brits

British driver Lindblad moves up to F1 after winning two F2 races this season, continuing a rapid rise since he moved up from karting in 2022. He's already had some F1 experience after driving for Red Bull in practice sessions in Britain and in Mexico, when a sixth-place finish showed signs of strong pace.

He'll be one of six British-born drivers on the grid next year, along with Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Oliver Bearman and Alex Albon, who drives under the Thai flag.

Next year will be “a big challenge and I know there’s a lot to learn, but I’m ready to work closely with the team and rise to it,” Lindblad said.

Racing Bulls is the exception by promoting Lindblad as sweeping regulation changes for 2026 have led other teams to trust more experienced drivers.

Eight teams have left their driver lineups unchanged for next year and Cadillac, the new 11th team, has hired Perez and ex-Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. They have racked up more than 500 F1 race starts between them.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing