Meet the drivers who might be next on Red Bull's F1 call list

Red Bull is back in the headlines after a rather brutal seat swap involving Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. 23-year-old Lawson managed just two races alongside four-time World Champion Max Verstappen and, after two disappointing race weekends in Australia and China, has been demoted back down to Racing Bulls for the remainder of 2025.

Although many are hailing Tsunoda’s move to the organisation’s top team overdue, there are those who worry the Japanese driver’s future could be a savage copy and paste of those that came before him.

With no official ‘reserve’ drivers announced at Red Bull or Racing Bulls so far this season, we take a look at those who might have a watchful eye on them over the next few months.

Arvid Lindblad 

One of the hottest talents on Red Bull’s books at the moment is Brit Arvid Lindblad. Found in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Campos Racing this year, Lindblad has had a lot of success during his time in the junior formulas. Coached and mentored by current Formula E standings’ leader Oliver Rowland, Lindblad has been a Red Bull junior since he was 13 – four years ago.

After a single year in FIA Formula 3 racking up four victories before being promoted up to F2, the talented teenager also has several karting championships under his belt and won the Macau F4 World Cup race in 2023. Although he was rapid during the F2 championship’s pre-season testing in Barcelona, Lindblad didn’t pick up any points in the Melbourne season-opener to finish 10th in the Sprint Race before the Feature Race was cancelled due to the weather.

“We are not looking for a new Max Verstappen,” Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor, was quoted as saying at the end of last year. “We are looking for a new champion, and I think the next one which looks really promising is Arvid Lindblad. What makes him outstanding is his pure speed.”

Jake Dennis

As well as balancing a successful career in Formula E, Jake Dennis has played a pivotal part in Red Bull’s results on-track as the team’s official simulation and development driver. This is a role he’s maintained since joining in 2018 and sees him frequently put in long shifts over Formula 1 race weekends at their Milton Keynes base. 

Briton Dennis has been given several opportunities by Red Bull during his time with the team, which included his Formula 1 weekend debut when he completed Free Practice 1 for the team at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as the post-season test the following week.

Despite his focus being on Formula E, having won the Drivers’ World Championship with Andretti Global in Season 9 of the all-electric series, it’s understood he will continue with his Red Bull duties over 2025.

Isack Hadjar  

He might have only just joined the F1 grid with Racing Bulls, but Isack Hadjar has always been hailed as a big signing for the Red Bull junior team. Although his debut in Melbourne was tarnished by a costly mistake on the formation lap, leaving him unable to start the race in an emotional scene, he has since impressed many having just missed out on points in China. 

His name has been in the mouth of team boss Christian Horner for a long while now, with Horner labelling both Hadjar and Lindblad as “two outstanding talents” last summer. Although he only has one race start to his name, taking a trip back through the archives it’s clear that there’s a good chance history could repeat itself if Tsunoda doesn’t work out at Red Bull Racing. 

Yes, Tsunoda has been brought on for his wealth of knowledge in the hopes both he and Verstappen can offer valuable feedback on the RB21, with the stability of the 2025 challenger looking to be all over the place, but at a team who have had more driver swaps than hot dinners, it’s possible we could see Hadjar in that navy Red Bull suit before we know it. 

With the Sporting Regulations stating that each competitor can only use a maximum of four drivers across a season, Red Bull and Racing Bulls have already reached strike one, respectively. 

Franco Colapinto 

He might not be a part of the Red Bull family, but with members of the media supposedly spotting Helmut Marko visiting the Alpine hospitality in China as well as Franco Colapinto being some of the paddock’s hottest property at the moment, a loan to Racing Bulls might not be the craziest idea. 

After raising eyebrows at Williams Racing towards last season, replacing a struggling Logan Sargeant, Colapinto showed good promise picking up five career points across nine races – with Sargeant only scoring a single point at the team during his 36 starts. 

Now at Alpine and closely monitored by Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore, it seems plausible that the French team could hire out Colapinto in exchange for a handsome sum – this is Flavio we’re talking about here – especially with the outfit now having four reserve drivers on their books. 

Ayumu Iwasa

One talent that has been on Red Bull’s radar since 2021 is the Japanese talent Ayumu Iwasa. After a year in Formula 3, he progressed up to Formula 2 with DAMS in 2022 and achieved five wins over two seasons. His career took a turn when he returned back to Japan to compete in the Super Formula championship last year, with Iwasa initially labeling it as a “negative” step in his racing career. Nevertheless, he picked up three podiums in his debut season and currently leads the drivers’ standings in 2025 after two rounds at Suzuka. 

Last season he was also given the opportunity to drive in two Free Practice sessions, once during his home race at the Japanese Grand Prix and later that season in Abu Dhabi. Iwasa also completed the 2024 end of season test around the Yas Marina Circuit for a second consecutive year for the Red Bull sister-team.

Sergio Perez

Then there is Sergio Perez. Currently on a six-month sabbatical, Perez has said he will be taking some time to decide on the next steps after having his Red Bull contract terminated a year early at the end of 2024.

If he does decide on a F1 comeback, as one of the most experienced drivers in the championship’s history with 281 grand prix starts to his name, perhaps Red Bull and its sister team won’t be the answer. However, we’ve seen many drivers go back to their old teams in some capacity, and perhaps by some miracle there’s no hard feelings between the two. Time will tell.