Damon Hill seriously impressed by ‘amazing’ £800k-a-year F1 driver who has now ‘surprised everyone’ this season

The first third of the 2025 Formula 1 season has now been completed and there are plenty of conclusions that can be drawn for the opening eight races.

McLaren are very much the team to beat with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris split by just three points in the drivers’ championship.

Max Verstappen can’t be written off as he chases his fifth consecutive title, while George Russell’s assault on the top three in the standings has fallen away after back-to-back poor weekends for Mercedes.

Ferrari have had a difficult start to the campaign, with Charles Leclerc securing their best points finish of the year by finishing second at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The rest of the teams in the paddock are quickly turning their attention to 2026 in the hope that they’ll be in a much stronger position when the regulations change.

For their drivers, they still have to put in maximum effort, with some of them still trying to secure contracts for the 2026 F1 season.

Damon Hill has been keeping a close eye on how every driver has performed this season.

It’s safe to say that Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar has been his biggest surprise of the campaign after a career-best performance in Monte Carlo on Sunday.

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

Damon Hill says Isack Hadjar has ‘surprised everybody’ during his rookie F1 season

Hill was reflecting on the Monaco Grand Prix on the Chequered Flag Podcast with journalist Rosanna Tennant.

Hadjar, who is on a £800k-a-year contract, was the subject of their discussions after finishing sixth in Monaco and Tennant explained what happened after the race: “It was actually really nice.

“I watched Max Verstappen congratulate him, he said, ‘Really good job today,’ so, he’s noting that performance.”

Hill responded: “He has actually surprised everyone, probably not himself, but I mean maybe has surprised himself, I don’t know, but I’ve been impressed.

“I’ve been impressed by almost everything he’s done. I mean there was clearly the horrible thing he went through in Australia where he made a mistake and actually was in tears and had to be consoled by Anthony Hamilton and we didn’t have to be but he was.

“For a guy who was distraught, has he got the emotional strength to be a Formula 1 driver and so forth but he has been amazing since that moment and he’s been strong and to go round Monaco, biff it into the wall twice, take off the wheel and not be cowed by that and to put in a fantastic qualifying performance and race, well done.”

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Isack Hadjar makes his case to be considered Formula 1’s best rookie of 2025

Seven drivers who have raced in Formula 1 this season could technically be considered rookies this year.

Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto are far more experienced than the likes of Hadjar but have yet to complete a full F1 season.

The Argentine is still fighting to convince Alpine he deserves to see out the rest of 2025, while Lawson faces pressure from Arvid Lindblad for his seat.

The New Zealander’s performance in Monaco would have alleviated some of the worries about his start to the campaign, with Lawson earning a new nickname based on his defensive driving.

Gabriel Bortoleto has done well in a struggling Sauber team, while Oliver Bearman has had some very impressive peaks at Haas.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s last two races haven’t gone to plan for Mercedes but his pole position lap for the Sprint Race in Miami highlights his immense potential.

However, aside from Hadjar’s mistake on the formation lap in Australia, he’s been outstanding.

Hadjar has outscored Yuki Tsunoda and Lawson combined and fully deserves the praise he’s earned from Hill.