Isack Hadjar is the latest name to arrive on the F1 grid but who is the 20-year-old driver and why have Red Bull chosen him?

Hadjar is the next name off the Red Bull production line as he moves up to the Racing Bulls seat, taking the spot of fellow academy graduate Liam Lawson who is moving up to the Red Bull seat.

Who is Isack Hadjar?

Isack Hadjar was born in Paris on 28 September 2004 and has dual nationality both with France and Algeria but races under the French flag.

He started karting in 2015 before making his single-seater debut in 2019 in the French F4 Championship.

His big break came in May 2021 when he got on the radar of one Helmut Marko. Competing in Monaco in the Formula Regional European Championship, Hadjar secured a Grand Chelem of pole, victory and fastest lap and was rewarded with an offer to join Red Bull’s famed driver academy.

Onto the Red Bull production line

Having seen the likes of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and many come through it, there was hardly a better place for an F1 hopeful to be and Hadjar’s first races under the Red Bull brand came with Hitech GP during his first season of F3.

He took three wins and five podiums to finish his rookie campaign fourth in the series before moving up to F2 for 2023, again with Hitech.

Hadjar may have only finished 14th in his debut season but was rewarded with his first taste of an F1 car, driving for VCARB in FP1 at the Mexico Grand Prix.

The Frenchman moved to Campos Racing for 2024, just missing out on the title to fellow F1 newbie Gabriel Bortoleto in his most impressive season of racing to date..

Hadjar’s performances in 2024 made his move into F1 look like a matter of when, not if, but once Red Bull’s interest in Franco Colapinto had cooled, it looked likely Hadjar would be on the grid for 2025.

With Sergio Perez confirming his exit and Liam Lawson moving up, space opened up for Hadjar who was confirmed as Yuki Tsunoda’s new team-mate.

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Isack Hadjar on his racing experience

Speaking to Red Bull, Hadjar said: “I was always interested in cars but not particularly the racing, because of the movie ‘Cars’.

“My grandparents and parents are mainly doctors or physicists so they have nothing to do with motorsport but my dad always watched F1, that’s it really. When I grew up I wanted to do go-karts as I started watching F1 at the age of 6 so my parents bought me one when I was 7! This love for racing just came by myself.

“My first race in karts was September 2012 and I won. My first car race was in the French F4 championship, April 2019.

“My parents are the people who helped me the most during my career by far, as they gave me everything to succeed from the early stages to now, by finding sponsors and people who could help in our project. I basically owe them everything.

“My ambition is to be F1 champion, my racing heroes are Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton. When I am not racing I like judo and catching up with friends, and I have enjoyed learning English at school, that’s where I get my best grades!

“One of my favourite races was in French F4 in 2020, I started the race from 14th on the grid and made my way up to 2nd. It was at the Paul Ricard circuit, where it’s not so easy to overtake but went up to 4th after a few laps with crazy overtakes, took the fastest lap and overtook for second in the late stages of the race.

“In 2021 I won in Monaco in FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship). For the first time in the season, I dominated. I had a great start and started pulling away after 2 laps setting fastest laps almost every single lap to create a gap of 6 seconds just before the Safety Car. Had a great restart and pulled another gap of 7 seconds, I just had so much fun as I had the Monte-Carlo streets just for me during 30min! It’s mainly because of this race that I got to sign with Red Bull.

“I also enjoy other tracks. I think that everyone knows that the esses of Suzuka is one of if not the best section of corners in the world, mainly because of its flow. But my favourite corner is Degner 1 which is a 90-degree high-speed corner where any mistake leads to the wall. I feel like it’s the only track where all the corners are enjoyable to send the car in.

“Of course I love racing, it is mainly the fact that I get to compete against the best in the world that fires me up. Extracting the absolute maximum of the car or coming back from desperate situations is the best feeling a driver can have.”

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