Christian Horner is reportedly considering Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar to replace Max Verstappen, should the Dutchman receive a one-race ban. The reigning world champion is currently one penalty point away from the 12-point threshold. Verstappen placed himself on the brink of a one-race suspension with a misjudged move at the Spanish Grand Prix. After being told to hand a position to George Russell, the 27-year-old lunged back down the inside, banging wheels with the Mercedes racer.
The stewards hit him with a 10-second time penalty that dropped him to 10th in the classification and three penalty points. Verstappen now has 11 on his FIA super license, and two race weekends to navigate before any are removed. According to a report from PlanetF1, Red Bull will look internally for a replacement, should Verstappen pick up a one-race ban. They cite Lawson and Hadjar, both of whom are currently representing the Racing Bulls squad, as the leading contenders.
Lawson already has experience behind the wheel of the RB21, although the New Zealander’s miserable form at the start of 2025 would make this a challenging return to the Red Bull garage. Horner and Marko were forced to make a change after two race weekends, with the 23-year-old struggling in the spotlight.
Hadjar also suffered a miserable start to his season as the French rookie crashed on the formation lap of his first-ever F1 start. However, since then, he has been a revelation, scoring points in five of the last eight Grand Prix and boasting immense qualifying speed.
This would also generate an opportunity for a driver to debut with Racing Bulls. Ayumu Iwasa is the team’s official reserve and has extensive experience behind the wheel in free practice sessions, but Horner and Helmut Marko are more likely to look toward Arvid Lindblad, should the FIA grant him special dispensation as a 17-year-old.
Lindblad scored his maiden Formula Two feature race last time out in Barcelona and is a leading contender in the championship hunt after kicking off his rookie campaign with a run of 11 consecutive top-10 finishes.
While many drivers would relish the opportunity afforded by a race ban for Verstappen, Red Bull will be desperate to avoid such a scenario. The Milton Keynes squad have already dropped to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, and the Dutchman’s title defence hangs in the balance.
After nine races, Verstappen trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 49 points, with Lando Norris only 10 points behind his McLaren team-mate. A one-race suspension would almost certainly rule him out of title contention, barring a disaster from Andrea Stella’s squad.
