The Baku GP saw all four Red Bull drivers score points. Verstappen claimed a dominant victory in his RB21, whilst teammate Tsunoda brought home eight points with a P6 finish.
Lawson converted his strong qualifying into P5 in Azerbaijan, his best result in F1 to date. After a few weekends of stealing the headlines, it was an understated afternoon for Hadjar, who only managed P10.
Traditionally, Red Bull have always been linked to some kind of driver change. Even before replacing Sergio Perez, there was an almost constant stream of drivers being rotated at VCARB. Between 2023 and 2025, Tsunoda faced off against four teammates, evidence of the volatility at Faenza.
Due to a multitude of factors, Tsunoda’s results at Red Bull have been insufficient to quieten rumours about another driver shake-up. Hadjar is best placed to capitalise on this, although Lawson has sent a reminder that he should not be discounted.
In what has been a tumultuous year, VCARB team principal Alan Permane insists there is no panic or rush.
No rush for Red Bull and VCARB to finalise 2026 line-ups
Since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure in 2018, Red Bull have struggled to find a replacement. Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were the first drivers to take the second seat, though neither were deemed fast enough.
Perez managed to deliver important results in 2021 and 2022, but his performances began to nose-dive in 2023. Since then, there has been constant scrutiny on who will drive alongside Max Verstappen.
Lawson was selected over Tsunoda to start the year at Red Bull, with Christian Horner showing confidence in the Kiwi. What happened next is well-documented, with the Kiwi losing his seat after two nightmare weekends.
Since then, Tsunoda has also experienced struggles. A combination of a tricky RB21, different floor specifications to Verstappen and poor set-up have proved limiting factors. His P6 in Baku only comes after extensive introspection within Red Bull, whose approach has fundamentally changed since Laurent Mekies became team principal.
Because of this, the team’s attitude towards their drivers is also markedly different. Rather than rushing to make any changes, Mekies wants to wait before making a decision on 2026.
With Tsunoda beginning finding his feet at Red Bull (whilst Hadjar and Lawson deliver regular points), there is no reason to disrupt either team. Both Red Bull and VCARB are fighting for important position in the constructors, and look increasingly capable in their respective battles.
Permane outlines timeline at VCARB
Echoing this sentiment, Alan Permane was composed when asked about Hadjar’s prospects of being promoted. He downplayed the need to reach any conclusions at this stage of the year. The VCARB team principal has spoken very highly of all three drivers – Tsunoda, Lawson and Hadjar – since joining Faenza.
In this sense, his attitude it consistent with that of his former colleague Laurent Mekies. With all four Red Bull drivers in important battles, Permane sees the best approach to let things play out.
Speaking in Baku, he explained his driver situation:
“I think that’s a tricky one at this time of year, and fortunately, we don’t have to make that decision at this time of year.
“I’m very sure, and I think it’s been said, that it will be much later in the season.
“What we have to do for Isack is make sure that we – as the trackside team – deliver perfection for him. So that he’s got a car that he can perform well in, and he needs to perform well.
“He needs to deliver perfection as well. We’ve seen that when he does that, and when the car is right and suits the circuit and he puts it all together, we can have a super-strong weekend.”
Main photo: Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images (Red Bull content pool)
