DOHA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Yuki Tsunoda looks set to lose his Red Bull race seat with the energy drink company's two Formula One teams scheduled to announce their 2026 driver line-ups on Tuesday.
French driver Isack Hadjar, who has had a strong rookie season at Racing Bulls, is expected to step up and take Tsunoda's place alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing.
That would leave two seats at Racing Bulls to be filled, with one currently occupied by New Zealander Liam Lawson but Tsunoda and highly-rated Anglo-Swedish F2 racer Arvid Lindblad also in the running.
"We will announce on Tuesday what the driver line-up is," Red Bull principal Laurent Mekies told reporters after Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix.
"We are confident it will not disturb the focus in Abu Dhabi."
Verstappen remains in the hunt for a fifth successive world championship after winning at Lusail on Sunday night, with Tsunoda finishing 10th.
Tsunoda, whose backers Honda are leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin at the end of the season,could still have a role to play in the championship if he can get between Verstappen and his McLaren rivals.
"It is mega important...it could be down to the last point," said Mekies.
"So it will be super-important to have Yuki at 100%"
Red Bull are third in the constructors' championship already won by McLaren for the second year in a row and Tsunoda's contribution to the team's tally has been minimal compared to Verstappen's points haul.
Verstappen has won seven races and scored 396 of Red Bull's 426 points, with Tsunoda yet to finish higher than sixth this season.
Lawson drove for Red Bull in the first two races without scoring before being demoted in a swap with Tsunoda.
The Kiwi has so far scored five points more than Tsunoda, including finishing ninth on Sunday.
Hadjar was on the podium for Racing Bulls at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August and has scored 51 points to date.
Lindblad is sixth in the Formula Two standings but has impressed in practice outings after Red Bull secured an exemption for him to geta super-licence while still only 17.
In Mexico City in October the now-18-year-old took Verstappen's car for first practice and was sixth fastest, best of the non-racers and quicker than Tsunoda.
"He did a very good job. It's so difficult to jump in. The pace is there, so not much to argue against that," said Mekies at the time.
(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Ros Russell)
