Isack Hadjar must be generating enormous excitement at Red Bull right now. He’s exceeded all expectations in the first third of his rookie season.
Indeed, Karun Chandhok says Hadjar has been the ‘standout’ rookie this year after five new drivers made the step to F1. That take angered Mercedes, who replaced Lewis Hamilton with Kimi Antonelli, but he stands by it.
Hadjar has been particularly impressive over a single lap, reaching Q3 on five occasions – the second-best record of any driver outside the top four teams. He started the Monaco Grand Prix an eye-catching fifth, and followed that up with a career-high P6.
Indeed, while the Frenchman only scored points in two of his first six weekends, he picked up 16 across the triple-header. Racing Bulls outscored Mercedes in that period, and Hadjar climbed to ninth in the championship.
Liam Lawson started the year as a Red Bull driver alongside Max Verstappen, but now he’s being shown up by his less experienced teammate. He trails the qualifying head-to-head 6-1 and the race-day battle 6-0 (when both drivers finish).
Helmut Marko wants to be patient with Isack Hadjar after seeing Yuki Tsunoda struggle
Hadjar’s initial teammate Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull after the first two rounds, but right now he looks set to extend the second-driver curse at Milton Keynes. He’s scored just seven points in as many races so far.
Given the contrasting form of the two drivers, this has inevitably led to talk that Hadjar could replace Tsunoda at Red Bull. But publicly at least, senior figures are trying to protect the Japanese driver.
Helmut Marko defended Tsunoda after the Spanish GP, where he qualified last and finished 13th. He pointed out that the 25-year-old was running a slower spec after his enormous Imola crash.
Motorsport Italy call these comments from the usually ruthless Marko ‘surprising’. He may now have realised that the ‘frantic search for the new Verstappen’ has seen several drivers ‘burned’, namely Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and Lawson.
The report reveals that Marko will change his approach for Hadjar, sticking to a careful ‘growth path’ rather than accelerating his ascent. Thus, if Verstappen receives a race ban, the F2 graduate is unlikely to be the replacement.
Red Bull would instead turn to Ayumu Iwasa, the reserve driver who appeared in FP1 at Suzuka. That would be a disappointment to Hadjar, but the team feel it would protect him.
Isack Hadjar took his Lewis Hamilton fandom to an extreme level as a child
In the past, Marko has never shied away from rapidly promoting exciting young drivers. This approach worked for Verstappen, who won on his Red Bull debut at the age of 18.
But others haven’t looked ready to race in Christian Horner’s team. Gasly was called up after just one full season, Albon after half the year and Lawson after only 11 races.
While he spent five years at the sister team, Tsunoda has uncovered a ‘larger problem’ at Red Bull. Perhaps the team must take some of the blame for the failure of so many respected drivers.
Hadjar wants to be the next Lewis Hamilton, having watched the Briton’s live onboards rather than the world-feed race coverage as a child. Hamilton started out at a title-contending McLaren team, but Red Bull may take a more patient approach with their newest prodigy.
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