Laurent Mekies praises the ‘extraordinary’ impact Isack Hadjar is already having behind the scenes at Racing Bulls

Isack Hadjar has been arguably Formula 1’s standout rookie of the 2025 season so far. The Frenchman has put in some impressive performances since moving up from Formula 2.

His debut in the sport, however, was one to forget. Hadjar crashed on the formation lap in the tricky conditions and looked highly emotional walking back to the garage.

Helmut Marko privately told Hadjar to ‘be better in China’ after publicly labelling the accident as ’embarrassing’. The 20-year-old certainly took that advice on board as his recovery from that heartbreak has been brilliant.

The Frenchman qualified P7 in China and Japan, scoring his first F1 points in the latter race with eighth. Hadjar scored again in Saudi Arabia with 10th from P14 on the grid, leaving him with five points from the opening five Grand Prix.

Karun Chandhok says Hadjar has surprised Racing Bulls as they expected him to have more crashes. Since his Melbourne incident, he has not the barriers.

Of all the rookies on the grid in 2025, Lewis Hamilton says Hadjar is his ‘favourite’. The 20-year-old is earning strong praise all around the paddock for his start to the season and he is having quite the impact at Racing Bulls.

Laurent Mekies praises Isack Hadjar’s ‘extraordinary’ impact on Racing Bulls behind the scenes

Hadjar’s one-lap pace has been ‘extremely’ impressive in 2025, but his efforts behind the scenes at the Faenza outfit are what are getting him the praise.

The Frenchman is regularly seen on social media helping to make creative and entertaining videos to engage with the younger demographic. Team principal Laurent Mekies says the team want to target this age group to expand the fanbase.

Speaking with Autosport, Mekies praised Mekies for his ‘extraordinary’ impact in and out of the cockpit: “Isack is an extraordinary character. He fits everything so well with his team, he’s young, he’s 20 years old,” he said.

“He’s daring, he’s funny, he’s talking to the generations, look at what he does also in terms of behind the scenes and social and you will see how much of a genuine, funny, down-to-earth character he is.

“But then again, when he gets into the car, puts the helmet on, it’s the most competitive person you can think of who goes through the brutality of the competitions as we love it.

“And of course, he got a big hit in Melbourne on Sunday when we had the incident on the formation lap. But talent always wins.”

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know

How has Isack Hadjar compared to Liam Lawson since his Racing Bulls demotion?

After five races in 2025, Hadjar has already had two teammates at Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsunoda initially started the season with the team before being moved up to Red Bull to replace Liam Lawson.

The Kiwi driver was dropped after two races following a dismal start to the year with Red Bull. He was knocked out in Q1 in the opening two races and failed to score a point, prompting his demotion.

A move back to Racing Bulls is an opportunity for Lawson to regain his confidence in a low-pressure environment. However, he still has to learn the VCARB 02 and Hadjar is currently getting the better of him.

Lawson did outqualify Hadjar for the first time in Jeddah, but was beaten in the race as he is yet to score points in 2025. His teammate’s start to the year could have put him ahead in the pecking order to join Red Bull.

Hadjar has ‘definitely’ noticed a change in Lawson since returning to Racing Bulls, claiming he is getting stronger with his pace in Jeddah. But the 20-year-old has the upper hand and he will look to continue that form throughout the rest of the season.