Isack Hadjar will realise a life dream next season when he makes his Formula 1 debut for Visa CashApp Racing Bulls.
He will make up a grid of six full-time rookies which also includes his rival from Formula 2, Gabriel Bortoleto, who will race with Sauber next season.
Hadjar replaces Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls after the 22-year-old has been promoted by Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez, who has finally paid the price for his dismal 2024 season.
Perez losing his Red Bull seat had been on the cards for a while, with Lawson lined up to be his successor when they brought him in for the final six races in place of Daniel Ricciardo.
Hadjar has previously taken part in Friday Practice sessions for Red Bull, notably at this year’s British Grand Prix, but he has also revealed that he received help from Sebastian Vettel’s former race engineer when speaking on the Track Limits podcast.
Isack Hadjar receives help from Guillaume Rocquelin
Guillaume Rocquelin (or ‘Rocky’ as he is known) helped Vettel win all four of his titles between 2010 and 2013, before being promoted to head of engineering in 2015, then taking a step back from trackside duties in 2022.
Part of his role now is helping develop talent coming through the Red Bull junior programme, which recently includes Hadjar who participates in sim sessions with the team.
“There is someone called Rocky, he’s our technical advisor in the junior programme at Red Bull,” said Hadjar.
“He was Vettel’s race engineer when he was winning everything, so when you get to talk with these guys, you just learn so much more than talking to F1 drivers.”
Isack Hadjar makes it six full-time rookies on 2025 F1 grid
With Lawson making his full-time debut after only 11 starts, he will be the most experienced rookie making their full-time debut next year.
Oliver Bearman has already had three Grand Prix starts under his belt, while Jack Doohan managed to make an early debut with Alpine which Jolyon Palmer described as ‘difficult’ in Abu Dhabi.
| Driver | Team |
| Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls |
| Oliver Bearman | Haas |
| Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| Jack Doohan | Alpine |
| Gabriel Bortoleto |
The least experienced of the six will be Gabriel Bortoleto having not participated in any Friday practice sessions and only the F1 post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Hadjar will both be in the same boat, although the French driver has more F2 starts after Antonelli missed the final round in Abu Dhabi due to illness.
Leave feedback about this