“Only three places on the starting grid remained vacant”, — write: sport.ua
Most of the teams already have long-term contracts with their drivers or extended their contracts before the summer break. However, five stages before the end of the season, there are still four vacant places, one of which is in the top team. Who has the best chances to be on the starting grid in 2026 and who are their main competitors will be discussed in this material.
Alpine
The first team that does not yet have a final decision on the driver line-up is Alpine. The team has already undergone changes in the fighting composition during this season: after six stages, the rookie of the team, Jack Duane, was replaced by the Argentinian Franco Colapinto, who is spending his second, but not full, season in Formula 1. He replaced Logan Sargent at Williams last year.
Rumors about the possible replacement of Duane with Colapinto appeared even when Alpin announced the signing of the Argentine as a reserve pilot. And after the Australian never managed to score points, while his partner regularly fought for good results, the decision actually matured by itself. In addition, Colapinto, who probably has Ukrainian roots, enjoys strong financial support from sponsors – a factor that is extremely important for Alpine, which has been going through difficult times in recent years.
Despite the skepticism at the start, Colapinto showed himself quite well. Although he has yet to score points in 12 stages, his results look convincing against his partner – both in qualifying and in races. In the qualifying duels, Franko is still inferior (5:7), but in the races he leads with the opposite score (7:5). He’s showing exactly what de facto team boss Flavio Briatore wanted: speed, consistency and performance against a teammate, even with the lack of points at the moment.
All of this, along with strong sponsor support, has led to reports that the team is set to announce the signing of Colapinto after the Mexican Grand Prix, ahead of the Brazilian stage. However, the situation suddenly changed. In the closing laps of the race in Austin, the Argentine was asked to hold his position in 18th place and not to attack his partner, Pierre Gasly, in front. The Frenchman had older tires as he pitted early to cover the undercut, while Colapinto continued the first leg and had fresher rubber. Despite the team’s order, the 22-year-old pilot disobeyed and overtook his partner in the first turn. Alpin did not hide her displeasure with his actions.
The team directly expressed their disappointment with the incident. Despite the fact that the speed of the young driver meets the expectations of the management, this moment made us think – because Briatore, who now actually manages the processes in the team, above all values discipline. If it is broken in the fight for 17th place, what will happen when the team can fight for good points again? The Mexican Grand Prix could be decisive for the future of Colapinto.
The only one who poses a real threat to the Argentine is the Estonian Paul Aron, between him and Franko, actually, the team chooses the candidate for the next season. Paul became a real sensation in Formula 2 last year. Until a certain point, he was considered one of the main contenders for the title, but this year’s Formula 1 debutants – Bortoleto and Hajjar – took the lead in the overall standings.
If we compare Aron with a competitor for a place in Alpine, then in the 2024 season he was ahead of Franco Colapinto. However, even success in Formula 2 does not guarantee similar results in Formula 1.
According to the pilot himself, he only had a budget for one season in F2. His goal was to win the title and attract the support of one of the teams, and ideally – to get a fight spot. It was partially successful: Alpin included Paul as a reserve driver, and this year he spent practice for Sauber (which will become Audi next year) and Alpin. Actually, in Mexico he will sit behind the wheel again during the Friday tests.
Racing Bulls and Verstappen’s partner
Rumors about the future partner of Max Verstappen in Red Bull are constantly circulating. Being his colleague is difficult not only because Max is a pilot of the highest level, perhaps the strongest at the moment, but also because the car was built with his wishes in mind, which makes it difficult to control the other driver. However, with the arrival of Lars Mekis at the helm and a series of upgrades in the second half of the season, things have improved slightly, although the bulls’ car is still difficult for the rest of the drivers.
Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is currently Verstappen’s partner. The Japanese was promoted at the start of the season after two races when Liam Lawson, who started the year in the senior team, failed. Since then, Yuki has performed better than his predecessor, but the question remains – is it enough to stay in the team. After the updates, he began to score good points, and in the races, even if he did not make it to the finals of the qualification, he actively played for positions, as, for example, in Austin, along with the sprint, he climbed 17 places from the starters.
Before the Mexican Grand Prix, Tsunoda is 16th in the standings and has the fewest points among the drivers in the Red Bull system. In order to keep his place, he needs to at least overtake the team’s youngest riders – Isak Hajjar (39 points) and Liam Lawson (30 points). Is it realistic to do it with 5 races before the end of the season? Yes, quite, but at the same time you need to make steady progress. In this case, there is still a chance to stay at Red Bull or at least in Formula 1 next season.
Yuki Tsunoda’s main problem is that every time he shows something really bright and shows his maximum, there is almost always someone from his direct competition. Because of this, his performances are often “smeared” with impressions and do not attract due attention.
Isaac Hajar
The main competitor of Yuki Tsunoda for a place in Red Bull was the rookie of the season – Isak Hajjar, who already managed to get his debut podium in his career and currently ranks second among the pilots of the Red Bull system.
This French-Algerian driver was given little attention before the start of the season, although he proved his potential by becoming the vice-champion of Formula 2. Skepticism was added to a poor debut in Australia when Hajjar went down on the warm-up lap. However, after that, it shows stable results.
Hajjar’s most impressive performances are a sixth place in Monaco and a debut podium in the Netherlands, achieved through sheer pace. These results make him the main candidate for a starting place in the senior team at the start of the new regulation. This has already been reported by insiders close to Red Bull and Verstappen, and the rhetoric of the team and the driver in the media also hints at a promotion. The only thing that can change the decision in Tsunoda’s favor is that Hajjar’s performances, after Zandvoort, do not live up to expectations, although he is currently in the top 10 of the standings.
Liam Lawson
The New Zealander is having a very mixed season. He completely failed to start the championship, unable to cope with the pressure and expectations, due to which he was demoted to Racing Bulls and could not get back to proper form for a long time.
However, his performances have been quite good lately, and he often outperforms Isak Hajjar. And in the Azerbaijan Qualifying, he won the third place and managed to hold off the pilots of McLaren, Ferrari and the main competitor for the place in F1 – Yuki Tsunoda, finishing fifth.
Currently, Liam’s main struggle is not with his teammate, but with the Japanese. His chances of getting into the main team at the start of the 2026 season are minimal, but staying with the Racing Bulls for one more season is quite possible. The main thing for Liam is to avoid frequent incidents and surpass Tsunoda in the standings, because currently the Japanese pilot is only two points behind him.
Arvid Lindblad
He is currently the main problem among the above mentioned pilots. According to insiders, the British-Swedish driver already has a seat at Racing Bulls for the 2026 season. This means that one of the trio of Tsunoda, Hajar and Lawson will be forced to move to the reserves or leave Formula 1.
Who is Arvid Lindblad? The young driver is currently 18 years old, which officially allows him to compete in Formula 1. Although Red Bull has made a request to the FIA about a possible exception for the Briton due to the risk of disqualification for Max Verstappen.
Last year, Lindblad finished fourth overall in Formula 3, an impressive result for his age and level of experience. He was in contention for the title but failed to score a single point in the last six races of the three final rounds. A similar situation occurred at the end of the 2023 season in Italian Formula 4, when he led the championship but dropped to third place after the last two stages.
This season is Lindblad’s debut year in Formula 2. Before the decisive stages in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, he is seventh in the standings, with two wins and two more second places. Although he was a real threat for the title, a disqualification at one of the stages and the success of his rivals prevented him from fighting for the championship.
Not bad for a debut season – an impressive but not sensational result. Lindblad has already tested a Formula 1 car and this stage in Mexico will again sit behind the wheel, replacing Max Verstappen in the first practice session.
Who will come out at the start of the 2026 season?
The teams, it seems, have not yet decided who will perform there. But I will venture to say who I consider worthy of a place, and how it will be is a matter for the teams.
Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Isak Hajar
Racing Bulls: Yuki Tsunoda, Arvid Lindblad
Alpine: Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto
Franko fulfilled almost all the tasks set by the team before his debut. Only points are lacking, but Alpin’s form has frankly dropped. Of course, it is possible to expel him because he overtook his partner and did not listen to the team, but whether this will be the right long-term solution is another question.
In Red Bull’s system at the moment, it looks like Hajjar has earned himself a place in the main team, at least thanks to the podium, and his results, although down, still allow him to get into the points at the finish. Liam Lawson also shows progress, but usually lags behind his partner quite seriously. When he performed alongside Tsunoda, he also regularly underperformed. In addition, Lawson could not stand the pressure at all in the Red Bull team.
In any case, all the final places will be known soon enough, and the Mexican Grand Prix may well be decisive.
