Visa Cash App Racing Bulls are to put their faith in a teenager for 2026’s F1 season, but it’s come at a cost for one driver in particular.
18-year-old Arvid Linblad will be joining the soft drink firm’s junior team with Frenchman Isack Hadjar being promoted to Oracle Red Bull Racing (the senior team) to race alongside Max Verstappen
Linblad, the young record-breaker currently holds the title of the youngest Formula 2 and Formula 3 race winner.
He is also the second-youngest driver to sign for a F1 seat, with his announcement confirmed at 18 years and 117 days.
The young trailblazer is set to take part in his first full race weekend at the Australian Grand Prix in March 2026 with the sister team to Red Bull Racing, entering the season as the only rookie on the grid – a significant drop from 2025’s five rookies.
Linblad concluded his Formula 2 season this weekend at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi before joining Racing Bulls, making the grid one-fifth British drivers and becoming the second British-Asian driver on the grid.
This was alongside fellow Red Bull Junior Academy graduate and current Williams driver British-Thai Alex Albon.
As for current Oracle Redbull Racing driver, Yuki Tsunoda has been dropped from both teams.
Tsunoda’s future as more than a test and reserve driver for Oracle Redbull Racing is uncertain at this time, with opportunities in other motorsport series emerging.
Endurance racing team Nielsen Racing took to social media to tease a potential seat, posting on X: “Hey @yukitsunoda07, would you like to give endurance racing a good go?”
Many Tsunoda fans took to social media to express their disappointment in Redbull for dropping Yuki.
With @Cloudy0_o on X saying “No one understands how genuinely sad I am that Yuki Tsunoda won’t be on the f1 grid next year”
With one race left in the 2025 season, we await further announcements on Yuki’s career.
It means Linblad will partner Lawson at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (junior team) and Isack Hadjar will team up with Max Verstappen in the senior Oracle Red Bulls side.
