Red Bull reportedly not interested in a Alex Palou-Max Verstappen alliance as key details emerge

Fresh reports coming out on Tuesday have disputed the rumors of Red Bull being interested in signing IndyCar champion Alex Palou as Max Verstappen's teammate for 2026. It is now being claimed that the Spaniard's agent was behind putting out the reports on Monday, with the Austrian F1 team having not shown any interest.

The Indianapolis based IndyStar reported on Monday that Red Bull have shown a concrete interest in pairing 4x IndyCar champion Alex Palou with 4x F1 world champion Max Verstappen.

This news got many fans excited because, if true, it would have meant that two of the current open-wheel racing era's most successful drivers could have lined up alongside each other on the F1 grid in 2026.

IndyCar commentator and former F1 pundit Will Buxton also added fuel to the fire by expressing that they would love to see Palou compete at the pinnacle of motorsports.

But a fresh report from F1-Insider.com on Tuesday has claimed that the Milton Keynes-based outfit has actually not shown any interest in signing the 28-year-old. The report also claims that Palou's agent, Daniele Audetto, is behind the rumor.

At the moment, it cannot be said for sure whether this means that Palou's camp is interested in making a switch over to F1, or if it is an age-old negotiation tactic to secure a new deal at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Palou has obliterated all competition and dominated the IndyCar series in recent years, having claimed three consecutive titles. His dominance has often been compared with Max Verstappen's in F1, who has also claimed four consecutive drivers' championships from 2021 to 2024.

The driver had recently claimed that he would not want to waste the peak years of his career driving for an F1 team that cannot win, when asked about rumors linking him to the new Cadillac team in 2026. Palou's approach to a move to Red Bull could well differ from this, given the stature of the team.

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Red Bull's recruitment strategy an unknown following Christian Horner's departure, claims F1 pundit

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

F1 journalist and pundit Andrew Benson has claimed that Red Bull's driver recruitment strategy after Christian Horner's sacking remains unknown at the moment. But the Briton added that the "general philosophy" is likely to remain the same.

While answering a question about who could potentially be of interest to Red Bull for 2026 alongside Max Verstappen, Benson explained:

"How Red Bull are going to operate in the driver market in the future is unknown at the moment, as Christian Horner has gone, and Laurent Mekies is now working alongside motorsport advisor Helmut Marko," said Benson. [via The BBC]

The journalist then shared a quote from Helmut Marko, which gave a hint about what the strategy could look like going forward.

"The general philosophy remains the same, though. As Marko put it when I was talking to him about drivers recently: 'At Red Bull, we make stars, we don't buy them.'"

If this is to be believed, it would mean that the team is unlikely to bring someone like Alex Palou in over promoting the likes of Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad to the senior team.