Days before the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Isack Hadjar will be stepping up to partner with Max Verstappen starting in 2026. This means Yuki Tsunoda is now added to Max Verstappen’s revolving door of teammates, like the long list of drivers ahead of him.
Ever since he moved up to RBR from Toro Rosso (now VCARB) in 2016, his teammates have come and gone. It has been a vicious cycle of promoting one driver after casting out another for the past seven years.
Verstappen’s Exes
Let’s take a short view back into the past and get a rundown on Verstappen’s former teammates.
- Daniel Ricciardo (2016-2018)
The Australian was clearly the forerunner in the team before a 17-year-old Verstappen came to replace Daniil Kvyat. It became clear that Ricciardo felt the team shift more towards Verstappen, so he left and moved to Renault.
- Pierre Gasly (2019)
Red Bull Junior Academy driver Gasly moved up to Red Bull to replace Ricciardo. He didn’t have a great start, as he hit the barriers on the first week of testing. His troubles just got worse, and so he was moved back to Toro Rosso just after 12 races.
- Alexander Albon (2019-2020)
The Thai driver’s success in DTM enabled him to step up and drive the rest of the 2019 season, following Gasly’s exit from the team. His performance was enough to guarantee his position in the team for the 2020 season. However, the stark difference between his and Verstappen’s performance was enough for him to get the boot.
- Sergio Perez (2021-2024)
Freshly out of a seat, Perez accepted Red Bull’s call, bypassing all the Junior Academy drivers. He was coined as the ‘Minister of Defence’ when he held his ground against Lewis Hamilton in the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and helped Verstappen in his bid for the championship.
There were numerous highs, including his 2022 Monaco win, but there were also lots of lows, especially compared to Verstappen who won the championship for four consecutive years.
Liam Lawson replaced Perez for the 2025 season.
- Liam Lawson (2025)
The Kiwi driver didn’t have much of a chance to prove himself. After bad qualifying sessions, he was demoted back to Racing Bulls just after two races.
- Yuki Tsunoda (2025)
When Lawson was promoted, there were loud voices that said Tsunoda should’ve gotten the call up. The team didn’t wait for long; he drove for Red Bull for the rest of the 2025 season in Lawson’s place.
Like the ones before him, the Japanese driver got the boot for not performing at his teammate’s level. This decision leaves him without a seat for the 2026 season.
The Recipe for Disaster
It’s not uncommon for drivers to come and go from a team. But the ruthless turnover rate at Red Bull Racing, and consequently, its junior team Racing Bulls, is just ludicrous at this point.
So why does it keep happening?
Red Bull’s main focus is on winning. Their whole design philosophy is to make the fastest car. In the current ground effect era, Red Bull’s cars are very ‘on the nose,’ which makes them unstable in the rear. Very fast, but very unstable and undrivable if not driven by someone who can handle it.
Alex Albon has spoken about this during his appearance on the High Performance Podcast.
“Truthfully, the car is what it is; he is very quick, so what ends up happening is… He has quite a unique driving style, it’s not that easy to get along with.”
“Everyone has a driving style. I would say my driving style is a bit more on the smooth side, but I like a car that has a good front-end, so quite sharp, quite direct. Verstappen does too, but his level of sharp and direct is a whole different level – it’s eye-wateringly sharp.”
“To give people kind of maybe an explanation of what that might feel like, if you bump up the sensitivity [on a video game] completely to the max and you move that mouse and it’s just darting across the screen everywhere, that’s kind of how it feels. It becomes so sharp that it makes you a little bit tense.”
Verstappen can handle whatever those quick yet unstable cars have thrown at him. His championships have definitely proven this. Consequently, it’s not a good look if his teammate finishes way further back or if he ends up lapping them. Inevitably, people would ask, “If Verstappen can do it, why can’t you?” And that’s where the second factor comes in. The pressure to perform as well as Max Verstappen. It comes from everywhere – the media, fans, the team, and the driver themselves. Whispers reaching their ears, “Is he the one to topple Verstappen off of his throne? Or is he just another name to add to the man’s victims?” It’s human nature to want to prove naysayers wrong; to want to come first. But when every race weekend just spells disaster and disappointment, it’s also human nature to get tense and crumble under the pressure. Red Bull has thrown these drivers into the deep end every time. The unfortunate thing is that, when they sink, the team has left them to drown every time.
The Helmut Marko Of It All
One of the hands that pushes drivers into those deep, dangerous waters is Helmut Marko, motorsport advisor to the team for 21 years. He is good at sensing a driver’s potential and shaping their futures, especially with the Young Driver Programme.
His investment in drivers definitely paid off, since Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, both Red Bull golden boys, were under his wing. Aside from that, half of the current drivers of the grid are from the programme.
Marko has a huge influence on the driver line-up decisions in both Red Bull and Racing Bulls. If he wants you in, you’re in. Conversely, if he wants you out, you’re kicked to the curb faster than you can say DRS.
But the Austrian has announced that he is leaving his advisor role, despite having a contract until 2026. What would this mean for the teams, and more importantly, the drivers?
The Future
Isack Hadjar will drive for Red Bull Racing starting in 2026, moving up from Racing Bulls and replacing Yuki Tsunoda. All eyes are on him even before he officially dons the navy blue race suit. The whispers are loud once again. “Is he the one to topple Verstappen off of his throne? Or is he just another name to add to the man’s victims?”
People think that with the shift of leadership after Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, and Helmut Marko’s departures and the change in car regulations, Hadjar might have a bit of a fighting chance. Maybe the car will be more suited to him. Maybe Verstappen will decide it’s time to leave Formula 1 behind.
Can Hadjar break the second seat curse? Or will it break him? Only time will tell.
Written by Jo.
Edited by Alexandra.
Featured image credit: sundayindependant.co.za
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