Isack Hadjar is already being linked with a move to Red Bull just 10 races into his rookie season. He’s exceeded all expectations after stepping up from F2.
The Racing Bulls driver saw his three-race scoring streak come to an end in Canada last weekend as he finished a disappointing 16th. He did make Q3 for the fourth race in a row before a three-place grid penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz.
Despite a tricky race, Hadjar remains inside the top 10 of the world championship, having scored 21 of Racing Bulls’ 28 points. He’s five places above Yuki Tsunoda, who was promoted to Red Bull at the expense of Liam Lawson before round three.
Tsunoda is out of contract at the end of the season, and he’s now gone three races without a point after a P12 in Montreal. His weekend was effectively ruined by a controversial 10-place penalty for overtaking under a red flag in practice.
Isack Hadjar says ‘I’m a fighter’ when discussing possible Red Bull move
Hadjar raised eyebrows before the Canadian GP when he said he wasn’t ‘ready’ to race for Red Bull. And he reiterated that during an appearance on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
However, Hadjar clarified that he’d accept the offer regardless. If motorsport advisor Helmut Marko was hesitant, hearing him say ‘I’m a fighter’ should remove any doubts.
One could argue that the 20-year-old has shown the perfect mentality – accepting of his limitations, but willing to do all that’s required to address them. He believes he could thrive alongside a driver of Max Verstappen’s calibre.
Asked if he’d feel ready should the call come this year, he said: “No, but I’d take it. Because I’m a fighter.
“I’m just curious. What drives me is fighting against the best in the world. To have Max as a teammate, I would learn so much.
“I do [get on with Max]. He’s a very chill guy, he gets on with everyone as long as it’s fine on track!”
Isack Hadjar reveals restricted access to Max Verstappen data at Red Bull
Hadjar believes that Verstappen is the best driver in F1 right now by some distance. He says the greatness of the four-time world champion comes to the fore at the end of qualifying.
Despite the close links between Red Bull and Racing Bulls, though, he doesn’t have any unique access to Verstappen’s data.
“I take the example of Max,” he said. “What’s quite impressive so far this season is that in qualifying he’s there – Q1, Q2, even Q3 run one, you don’t think he’s a pole position contender.
“Even with all that experience he has, he manages to extract even more on that final attempt. Under pressure, he puts it all together and finds extra time.”
“[I analyse Max] out of curiosity. He’s not an opponent right now. I’m mostly looking at midfield cars. Out of curiosity, I want to know what the high level is.”
Asked if Verstappen is ‘the benchmark’ right now, he replied: “Yes. Today it’s not very close.”
“I can have the GPS trace that everyone has, but no clue about the whole thing.”
As it stands, Hadjar is expected to partner Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026, with Tsunoda dropping out of the picture altogether. F2 high-flyer Arvid Lindblad would then move up to Racing Bulls alongside Lawson.
Christian Horner’s hand may be ‘forced’ despite Hadjar’s reservations, with Tsunoda simply not doing enough at this stage to merit an extension beyond Abu Dhabi.
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