Isack Hadjar opened up on how he initially told his manager to “get lost” having not believed Red Bull’s Helmut Marko wanted to meet him.

And now the latest graduate of the Red Bull Junior Team and a Racing Bulls F1 driver, Hadjar also revealed that he was never told straight up that he was in for F1 2025, joking that “giving good news” is definitely not something which Marko – the boss of Red Bull‘s driver programme and their senior advisor – enjoys giving out.

Isack Hadjar recalls Red Bull meeting scramble and F1 breakthrough

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hadjar was one of six rookie drivers to take to the F1 2025 grid, and he has arguably emerged as the standout, scoring 15 points across his opening eight grands prix with Red Bull’s second team Racing Bulls.

That tally still places him ahead of his early-season team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, despite Tsunoda receiving a promotion to the main Red Bull squad as of the third round.

Hadjar became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team from 2022, competing in Formula 3 and Formula 2 with their backing ahead of his F1 graduation, though it was back at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix where the seeds were sown.

As he returned to his apartment, Hadjar was not having any of it when his manager at the time told him Marko wanted a meeting, Hadjar having won from pole in Formula Regional in the Principality.

Once he realised this was not a wind-up, they hot-footed it over to meet Marko and got the ball rolling.

“We had just walked in when my trainer said he got a call: ‘Helmut Marko wants to meet you.’ I told him to get lost. I thought he was joking,” Hadjar recalled when speaking to Motorsport.com.

“But he kept insisting, and I realised it was serious. I asked, ‘OK, when?’ and he said, ‘Now!’

“We arrived completely soaked in sweat. Helmut was standing in the lobby. We sat down, and it was all very simple. He looked at me and said, ‘I’ll send you a contract. That’s it.’ At the time it felt strange, but I later understood – that’s how it works.”

Hadjar claimed three race wins in his sole F3 campaign, and finished runner-up in his second F2 Championship ahead of getting the nod to join Racing Bulls for 2025, realising his dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver.

Not that he was ever told in black and white terms that this was the case.

“I never got a call saying I’d be a Formula 1 driver,” the 20-year-old Frenchman revealed. “Let’s just say Helmut doesn’t like giving good news [laughs].

“No one ever said, ‘Good morning, Isack, you’re in F1 next year.’ Nothing like that. But obviously, I got the sense.

“Only when last season ended, and I was doing a simulator session in Milton Keynes, they told me: ‘Tomorrow, you’re going to Faenza.’ I asked why, and they said: ‘Don’t worry, see you tomorrow.’

“It’s funny now – but back then, it kept me on edge.”

F1 2025 head-to-head standings

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

And Marko has been left impressed by Hadjar’s start to life in Formula 1.

“Hadjar is the big surprise,” he declared to the media, including PlanetF1.com.

“Everywhere we come, immediately he’s on speed and everywhere he provides a super performance.

“We knew he’s fast, but that he is so consistent, and that he is driving relatively easy, it’s also a surprise for us.”

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