Isack Hadjar doesn’t want to become another Yuki Tsunoda. That’s not intended as a slight on the Japanese driver, who’s proven to be an excellent midfield competitor.
But Tsunoda wants to be far more than that on this stage. He was one of the youngest drivers on the 2024 grid – the influx of rookies has relegated him down that table – but this year will be his fifth with de facto junior team Racing Bulls.
That’s far longer than a driver would traditionally stay at Faenza. By that point, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko would either have promoted them, or more likely, let them go.
Tsunoda enjoyed his best season yet in 2024. He couldn’t match his 32-point haul from his rookie year (he got 30), but he broke into the top 12 of the championship for the first time.
On performance alone, he arguably deserved to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate. But Red Bull had concerns about Tsunoda’s temperament, particularly up against a renowned career-killer.
Instead, it was Lawson who got the seat, an inescapably damning snub for Tsunoda given that the New Zealander has only competed in 11 Grands Prix. The Honda-backed driver will be expected to beat Hadjar convincingly given the gap in experience, but even that may not be enough for a promotion.
Isack Hadjar vows to be careful with his use of the ‘radio button’ at Red Bull
Some in the paddock believe Red Bull have signed another Tsunoda in Hadjar. The consensus seems to be that Arvid Lindblad, the next Marko talent to graduate to F2, has a higher long-term ceiling.
Tsunoda likened himself to a ‘Monsters Inc’ character given his history of radio outbursts – a weakness, it should be said, that he sought to address last year. And one journalist thinks Hadjar will ‘blow the minds’ of F1 fans with his fury over the airwaves.
But the Frenchman is aware of the risks. Speaking to Canal+ ahead of his debut, he vowed to control his emotions.
This is clearly a driver who’s learned from Tsunoda’s behavioural mistakes. Red Bull evaluate drivers as a full package, and they ‘don’t like’ it when they lose composure on the radio.
“I’m going to keep up my desire to succeed, to win and also to channel my emotions,” he said. “I know very well which team I’m in. I know that they don’t like the radio button.”
Yuki Tsunoda told to study Max Verstappen’s radio messages from one 2024 race
The early noises around Hadjar aren’t especially positive. This isn’t a Jack Doohan situation, where Red Bull have already lined up an obvious alternative that could come in mid-season (Franco Colapinto in Alpine’s case), but he has only signed a one-year deal.
And there are signs that Marko is eyeing Lindblad for a 2025 seat. Beating Tsunoda is probably an unrealistic target, unless he loses motivation, but if he’s close in terms of outright pace and able to score good points, then he could secure a second season.
On the flip side, Red Bull may give up on Tsunoda for good if he’s unconvincing against Hadjar. The 24-year-old will be wondering if there’s anything he can do at this stage to win Horner and co. over.
Tsunoda was made to study Verstappen’s radio messages from the Sao Paulo GP, where he produced a masterful drive to go from 17th to first. They wanted him to learn from the Dutchman’s ‘calmness amid the world of chaos’, and will be watching this year to see if he’s taken those lessons on board.
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