Isack Hadjar has done something in his rookie F1 season that ‘nobody was expecting’ except Helmut Marko

Rookie Isack Hadjar has been one of the major talking points of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Frenchman has been hugely impressive with Racing Bulls in the opening third of the campaign.

The 2024 F2 vice champion was afforded his chance in F1 after Sergio Perez was dropped by Red Bull. He replaced Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls after he was promoted to the senior team over Yuki Tsunoda.

It was a devastating start to the season as Hadjar crashed on the formation lap in Melbourne in the tricky weather conditions. It was a heartbreaking moment for the rookie, but he has recovered remarkably well.

The Frenchman has been regularly getting his VCARB 02 into Q3 and has been outperforming teammate Lawson after his demotion from Red Bull. He has answered his critics who questioned whether he was ready for F1, due to his inconsistent F2 results and explosive radio messages.

Hadjar has made changes to his radio messages as he now has his outbursts to himself, rather than his engineer. The approach seems to be paying off with strong qualifying performances and regular points finishes.

His start to 2025 has earned praise from Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko, who, according to Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies, seemed to truly believe in Hadjar’s ability.

Laurent Mekies says ‘nobody’ except Helmut Marko expected Isack Hadjar’s ‘extraordinary’ start to 2025

Marko labelled Hadjar a mini-Alain Prost before his F1 debut, highlighting his faith in the young talent. That support has paid off, with the Monaco GP being his best career finish to date.

Despite Hadjar feeling ‘totally wiped out’ in Monaco due to the ‘relentless’ schedule and having two collisions with the barrier in practice, the 20-year-old put his car in P6 in qualifying, before being promoted to fifth after Lewis Hamilton was penalised for impeding Max Verstappen.

The Racing Bulls driver finished sixth to record eight points for the team and propel him into the top 10 of the standings. Speaking via Sky Sports F1 (30/5, 1;45pm) after FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix, Mekies said ‘nobody was expecting’ this ‘extraordinary’ start from Hadjar except for Marko.

Asked whether the team was expecting this start to 2025, Mekies replied: “No, no we didn’t. I think nobody did except for Helmut. No, the truth is that the starting point for Isack has been extraordinary.

“So yes, we were surprised and as you know, we are a big believer of the progression of the drivers, their development, the steps they make through the races.

“So we are concentrating on that to make sure we have the environment around him for him to make those steps. But the starting point, no questions, nobody was expecting it to be that high.”

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know

Is Isack Hadjar proving to Helmut Marko he is ready for the Red Bull seat?

Naturally, given his performances, speculation has begun to swirl about the Frenchman’s future. Hadjar’s contract is up in 2025, but so too is Lawson’s and Tsunoda’s, leaving Red Bull’s driver line-up uncertain for 2026.

The 20-year-old is regularly outperforming his more experienced teammate and is looking stronger than Tsunoda in the Red Bull. Hadjar is ‘on his way’ to join Red Bull in 2026 as his former Racing Bulls struggles for performance in the RB21.

Marko has been ‘very impressed’ by Hadjar after seeing him score his best career finish in Monaco. He surely has to be considered for the second Red Bull seat if he can keep up his performances.

But Red Bull have been warned about promoting Hadjar as it may be too soon for him to make the step up. The likes of Lawson, Perez and now Tsunoda have struggled to adapt at the team; the Frenchman could very well be the next.