Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar has emerged as a candidate to replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull, but his claims at the Monaco Grand Prix did not impress Helmut Marko.
Changes have already occurred in Milton Keynes this year as Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson in the Red Bull line-up after only the first two rounds. But the 25-year-old is still struggling to maximise the pace of their RB21, with which Max Verstappen has two wins plus three poles.
Tsunoda has only scored seven points ahead of the Monaco GP since joining Red Bull, which is the same total that Hadjar has so far earned during his rookie F1 season with Racing Bulls. The 20-year-old has also enjoyed stronger Grand Prix results than the Japanese gem of late.
Hadjar scored his first points as an F1 driver in the Japanese GP with P8, before earning P10 in the Saudi Arabian GP and P9 in the Emilia Romagna GP. Tsunoda has only registered P9 in Bahrain plus P10 in Miami and Imola since he moved from Racing Bulls to Red Bull in March.
Helmut Marko criticises Isack Hadjar for calling himself ‘an idiot’ after crashing in practice in Monaco
But Hadjar did not have a great first day at the Monaco GP as the Frenchman crashed twice during FP2 on Friday. He still improved on setting the 13th-fastest lap time in FP1 to seal P6 in the latter session, but Hadjar crashed at the Nouvelle Chicane and then at Sainte Devote.
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The Red Bull Junior Team product’s first incident in FP2 saw Hadjar get too close to the wall on the entry to the Nouvelle Chicane, with his contact with the inside barrier causing a left-rear puncture. His second incident was more costly as Hadjar broke his left rear suspension.
A bit of oversteer at Sainte Devote saw the left-rear of Hadjar’s VCARB 02 slide as he got on the throttle. The Parisian quickly hit Racing Bulls’ radio to say: “I’m so stupid. I think I’m just an idiot.” But Hadjar’s instant reaction did not impress Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Marko.
“He was good in terms of pace but not right away,” Marko told Motorsport.com. “He hit the barrier and tried to explain it with a lack of intelligence and things like that. He should just concentrate on driving.”
Helmut Marko warned Isack Hadjar about his radio messages before his F1 debut
Hadjar developed a reputation during his rise to Formula 1 for being very hot-headed on the radio having often berated the Parisian’s team, especially in Formula 2. Even Marko warned Hadjar to keep his cool on the radio when Red Bull promoted him into F1 with Racing Bulls.
The 20-year-old has not shown his impetuosity as often this season, though, as Hadjar does not feel the need to voice his anger over the radio given he is now no longer paying a team to race like is the case in the junior classes. Yet Hadjar, seemingly, still has some work to do.
It will also not help his cause to potentially graduate to Red Bull as early as the 2026 season to disenchant Marko. Red Bull see Hadjar as an option to replace Tsunoda in case he cannot improve, and team principal Christian Horner admits Hadjar has exceeded his expectations.
