Red Bull hold the keys to the final seat on the 2025 grid but Anthony Davidson thinks one driver wasted their chance to join Visa Cash App RB at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Faenza outfit are locked in with Yuki Tsunoda next season after RB activated their option to extend his contract in June. It keeps the 24-year-old at the junior Red Bull squad for a fifth season. But who joins Tsunoda remains a mystery as Red Bull will discuss firing Sergio Perez.
A meeting is due following the Abu Dhabi GP, likely even on Monday, where Red Bull are due to decide if Perez returns in 2025 or terminate the contract extension they gave the Mexican in June. If they do boot Perez out, then Red Bull are likely to promote Liam Lawson from RB.
Anthony Davidson ‘expected more’ from Isack Hadjar’s Abu Dhabi GP FP1 gig for Red Bull
Yet even if Lawson does step up from Faenza to Milton Keynes next year, Davidson does not believe Red Bull are guaranteed to put Isack Hadjar in the second Visa Cash App RB seat. He feels the Frenchman wasted a chance to prove his worth with Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Red Bull handed Hadjar the keys to the RB20 which Max Verstappen took to the drivers’ title in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi GP to complete their rookie quota for the season. It was his second time in one of the cars after also doing FP1 for the British Grand Prix in place of Perez in July.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know
But Hadjar failed to impress Davidson after complaining about stability in the corners at low speed, before also spinning Verstappen’s car. So, the former BAR driver now believes Hadjar must win the Formula 2 title at the Abu Dhabi GP to convince Red Bull he merits an RB seat.
“I think he’s shown more in F2,” Davidson shared on Sky Sports. “I think, today, I would have expected a bit more from him, in all honesty.
“It wasn’t the perfect day for him like the spin in Turn 6, all those things you just don’t want to happen. He’ll have the rookie test, as well, and he’s got to win this F2 championship.”
Isack Hadjar trails 2025 Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto by 5.5 points for the 2024 F2 title
Davidson is not alone in thinking that Hadjar spurned a chance to prove he is ready for F1 to Red Bull in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi GP. Ted Kravitz feels Franco Colapinto was the ‘big winner’ of Hadjar’s struggles at the Yas Marina Circuit as he strives to stay in Formula 1 next season.
Spinning Verstappen’s car was certainly the last thing that Hadjar would have wanted to do, as well. His F2 title bid hit a huge bump last week at the Qatar Grand Prix when Hadjar spun straight after losing the lead of the Sprint Race. Now, he faces a huge task to take the crown.
Hadjar will start the F2 Feature Race at the Abu Dhabi GP from P4 on the grid. But he will go into the race 5.5 points behind 2025 Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto after only managing a P6 finish in the Sprint Race. Bortoleto also qualified P2 for the Feature Race at Yas Marina.
