Red Bull Target Surprise Driver to Partner Max Verstappen in 2026

Red Bull have 'sounded out' a new teammate for Max Verstappen for the 2026 season with 'phone calls' already taking place over his potential recruitment.

The seemingly cursed second spot at Red Bull once again appears up for grabs, with several drivers unable to cement their place alongside Verstappen.

Liam Lawson started the 2025 season as teammate to the defending F1 champion but was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races, with Yuki Tsunoda stepping up to replace him.

The Japanese driver has failed to live up to expectations since his promotion and has managed to score just 20 points - a full 235 behind Verstappen, who still has an outside chance of defending his Drivers' World Championship title.

Newly appointed Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who replaced Christian Horner in July, has said there is no plan to demote or replace Tsunoda between now and the end of the season.

But it appears inevitable Tsunoda will lose his spot for the 2026 calendar.

Several options have been touted to replace the Japanese including rising Racing Bulls star Isack Hadjar and even a potential return for Lawson.

However, a surprise name has now entered the mix that few would have expected.

According to motorsport.com, former Red Bull driver Alex Albon is also being considered.

Alex Albon is being tipped for a return to Red Bull (Image: Getty)

A member of the Red Bull Junior Team, Albon signed for Toro Rosso in 2019 and after just 12 races, was promoted to parent team Red Bull.

The British-Thai driver was replaced by Sergio Perez the following year and continued as a reserve driver before moving on to Williams in 2022.

He has rebuilt his F1 career with the British team and is currently eighth in the drivers' standings having picked up 70 points this season.

motorsport.com claim that Red Bull 'sounded out Albon's position' in 2023 and that 'the phone calls have resumed in recent weeks'.

The move to re-recruit him is said to be supported by Thai boss Chalerm Yoovidhya, the majority shareholder of the Red Bull group. Albon was born in London but races under the flag of Thailand, his mother's home country.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is said to 'regret' allowing Albon to leave and would welcome the Thai driver's return to Milton Keynes.

However, a return to Red Bull is said to be 'complicated' given the uncertainty over the upcoming regulation changes in the 2026 season.

Revised aerodynamic regulations will come into force with new power unit rules, which include increased battery power and the use of 100 per cent sustainable fuels, raising questions over whether Red Bull will still have a dominant position over Williams.

What has Alex Albon said?

Albon has kept tight-lipped about the rumours of a return to Red Bull, although he recently expressed sympathy for Tsunoda.

"I empathise with it. I see it quite clearly," he said on the BBC's F1: Chequered Flag podcast.

"I think it is split in many ways. The time that I was at Red Bull, as you said, I joined six months into my F1 career, and I had just realised, in hindsight, I was in a predicament when I joined the team at Red Bull because I had a car that I was not comfortable with.

"I didn't have the experience to get myself out of it. I struggled with it, my experience level, and my maturity as a human being, to understand how to get out of that situation.

"I see it now, and I understand the same feelings. I speak with Yuki a lot, and I try to help him in any way I can. We have a great relationship, and I love Yuki."