Former French F1 driver is begging Red Bull not to make drastic decision with Isack Hadjar in 2025

Isack Hadjar has been one of the major talking points of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The rookie has been seriously impressive with Racing Bulls.

After crashing out of his debut race on the formation lap in Melbourne, the Frenchman has found another gear. Hadjar has regularly put his VCARB 02 into Q3 and has scored points in the last three races.

The 20-year-old achieved his career-best finish in Monaco with P6. Helmut Marko has been very impressed by Hadjar as he sits ninth in the standings after nine races.

Red Bull’s chief advisor has been a keen admirer of the Frenchman since his junior days. Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies says ‘nobody’ except Marko expected Hadjar’s ‘extraordinary’ start to 2025 as he extracts the most out of his machine.

Hadjar is outscoring Red Bull’s second drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with the latter being dominated by the Frenchman since his demotion back to Racing Bulls. His performances have prompted speculation about his future within the team’s setup.

Franck Montagny is begging Red Bull to not promote Isack Hadjar in 2025

Lawson desperately struggled at Red Bull as he got knocked out in Q1 in the opening two races. While Tsunoda has been a slight improvement, he is not able to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen.

With Tsunoda out of contract in 2025 and Hadjar’s performances at Racing Bulls, rumours are beginning to swirl that another driver swap could happen at Red Bull. Hadjar is the ‘hottest candidate’ to replace Tsunoda, which could come this season after the Japanese driver qualified last in Barcelona.

While the 20-year-old has shown signs of potential in F1, former driver Franck Montagny has pleaded with Red Bull to keep Hadjar at Racing Bulls in 2025.

“He does the job. That’s why we recruited him in the first place. It’s to perform, it’s to make sure things go well. The car is well-born. That’s a stroke of luck,” said Montagny via Canal+.

“Now, please Red Bull, let him do his year in Racing Bulls. Above all, don’t take him out of here, he needs to learn. He needs to gain confidence.

“Once that’s done, you take him, you put him in the Red Bull and you make another car that works a little better and we’ll see this Frenchman shine on the big steps of the podium, that’s for sure.

“He’s really, I think, at the peak of his early-season learning curve. Now it’s all going to come together, the information, the race strategy, and so on. It’ll all sink in.”

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

Red Bull have been warned about promoting Isack Hadjar amid Yuki Tsunoda woes

Many key figures agree with Montagny that it is too soon for another driver swap in Milton Keynes. David Croft says Hadjar is ‘not ready’ for Red Bull, despite displaying ‘similar’ traits to Verstappen.

Red Bull have been warned about signing Hadjar amid Tsunoda’s struggles in the RB21. Before stepping up to the Milton Keynes outfit, the 24-year-old had shown strong pace with Racing Bulls, finishing sixth in the Sprint in Shanghai.

No Red Bull driver has gotten accustomed to the second car next to Verstappen since 2017. The machine’s sensitive nature has resulted in every talent losing their seat or dropping off the F1 grid entirely.

While Hadjar is surprising everyone in F1 and has displayed great potential for the future, there is a strong chance that he will struggle in the RB21 if Tsunoda is dropped. He must be given the chance to properly develop at Racing Bulls before making a step up.