Mekies says Tsunoda seat safe, no Hadjar promotion this year

Hadjar’s breakthrough podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, where he qualified P4 and took third after Lando Norris’ late retirement, fuelled talk that the 20-year-old French rookie might be fast-tracked into the 'senior team', as Tsunoda is no match for Max Verstappen, and often beaten by the 'junior team' drivers.

The Racing Bulls driver has been one of the standout rookies of the year, becoming the youngest Frenchman ever to stand on a Formula 1 podium when he did so last Sunday at Zandvoort.

Tsunoda, promoted earlier this year from Racing Bulls in place of Liam Lawson, has endured a difficult run since moving alongside Max Verstappen. He has managed only four points finishes in 14 races, though he ended a barren spell with ninth place in Zandvoort last weekend.

Speaking during the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, new RBR team boss Mekies made clear that Tsunoda’s seat is safe: “I think the short answer is yes. I think we made it clear, very public, we have time with our driver decision. We have enough drivers in the driver programme to cover quite a few scenarios for next year.”

Mekies stressed there are no plans to bring Hadjar across before the end of the campaign: “We don’t have a reason to rush. We do not plan to change during the season. Yuki has been making a good step in the last three races. We want more, but he’s doing a good job. First time in the points after seven races, best qualifying with the team at Spa, he’s on a positive trend.

"It’s extremely nice to watch Isack’s progress and to see him performing at the level he did in the last race. It was a fantastic demonstration of the progress he has made during the season. We are relaxed about the driver topic, we have all the cards on the Red Bull side,” Mekies added, acknowledging Hadjar’s growing stature. (