Fans are convinced Sky F1’s David Croft just accidentally spilled the beans on next year’s driver market during sprint qualifying in Qatar. While commentating on Liam Lawson’s lap, Crofty listed the possible 2026 Racing Bulls line-up as “Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda or Arvid Lindblad.” He didn’t mention the name everyone expected: rookie Isack Hadjar.
That one omission sent social media into overdrive. Fans quickly pointed out that if Hadjar isn’t in the conversation for the junior team seat, it can only mean one thing: Red Bull has already decided to promote him to the senior squad alongside Max Verstappen for 2026. Twitter exploded with claims that Crofty had just “leaked” the news without realising.
Yuki Tsunoda himself added fuel to the fire before the weekend, telling reporters he knows details he can’t share but “most people already know it.” He said his future is still in his own hands and he’s focused on helping Verstappen, but the writing appears to be on the wall. A strong weekend might not be enough to save his seat.
Crofty may have simply forgotten Hadjar’s name, but the slip fits perfectly with months of rumours that the highly rated Frenchman is the chosen one to replace the struggling Tsunoda. If true, it would mean Tsunoda either drops back to Racing Bulls with Lawson or leaves the Red Bull programme completely.
With only two race weekends left in 2025, the silly-season bombshell everyone was waiting for might have just dropped live on air, courtesy of one missing name from David Croft’s commentary.
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