Either Red Bull Has Finally Made A Good Second-Seat Choice, Or Poor Isack Hadjar Is Doomed

As the new Red Bull Racing upper management remains unwilling to hire a priest to exorcise whatever has been haunting the team's second seat since Daniel Ricciardo departed in 2018 (not dead; simply living his best post-racing life, noticeably bearded and dirt-biking), reasonable roster decisions will have to suffice instead. On Tuesday, Red Bull officially announced that Isack Hadjar will replace Yuki Tsunoda at the factory team for 2026, and 18-year-old phenom Arvid Lindblad will fill Hadjar's spot at Red Bull's sister team, VCARB.

Bar an exorcist, Hadjar is the ideal choice for Red Bull, and most importantly, his promotion comes at the ideal time. Despite having the most brutal start to a rookie season possible—he crashed his car during the formation lap of a wet Australian Grand Prix—Hadjar recovered quickly in 2025 and was, for a stretch of the season, so impressive that the sword of mid-season promotion briefly hovered over him. However, with the Constructors' Championship well out of reach, Red Bull smartly opted not to promote Hadjar, giving him the opportunity to spend the last year of current aero regulations at the low-pressure environment of VCARB, with a much more manageable car.