Isack Hadjar got his second outing on a Formula 1 weekend with Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It’s a big weekend ahead for the Frenchman as he battles Gabriel Bortoleto for the Formula 2 title at the Yas Marina Circuit. The 20-year-old is just half a point behind the Brazilian heading into the final round of the 2024 season.
But this weekend has huge significance for Hadjar’s future, as the Red Bull junior is under consideration for an F1 seat in 2025.
With Sergio Perez desperately struggling to find form at the Milton Keynes-based outfit, the Mexican could be axed by the team after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda battling for a promotion from RB to replace him.
If Perez is sacked, a seat will be made available at the Faenza squad, with Hadjar being heavily linked with the drive. Hadjar drove Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in FP1, finishing 15th in the standings.
But after watching the session, Ted Kravitz was left wondering if another RB target was the ‘big winner’ in their quest to land the seat with RB.
Ted Kravitz thinks Franco Colapinto is the ‘big winner’ over Isack Hadjar for the RB seat after watching FP1
Franco Colapinto had been heavily linked with Red Bull after his impressive early races with Williams. Christian Horner confirmed their interest in Sao Paulo, with it being reported that Red Bull had offered £15.7m to sign Colapinto from the Grove-based outfit.
However, after a string of heavy crashes in the last three races, RB are no longer interested in Colapinto as he caused too many expensive accidents.
Hadjar was looking to take advantage of his opportunity in FP1 with Red Bull, but like his debut in Silverstone, it did not smoothly. The 20-year-old suffered a spin early on as he struggled with the steering wheel touching his legs in the cockpit
With Colapinto going seventh in the session, Kravitz was left thinking the Argentine may have put himself back into contention over Hadjar for 2025.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats
Talking about Hadjar’s FP1 via Sky Sports F1, he said: “I mean, even though he’s done that time, what is he within the top 10? It hasn’t been the smooth sailing calm session that Red Bull wanted it to be.
“And when you consider that this is an audition for the RB drive next year, this session I’m afraid to say, this is an audition and it’s not going as smooth and swimmingly as Isack Hadjar and maybe those around him, Christian Horner, Helmut Marko [would] want it to go.
“After the first time he had a go which was in Silverstone free practice 1, the mood we got, the sort of feedback we got was that, they didn’t think he was ready for Formula 1 yet and that’s why the discussions about Franco Colapinto came into it for a potential RB drive for next year.
“That seemed to cool somewhat over the last month or so and Hadjar was back in. So I wonder, whether the big winner from this session, will actually be Franco Colapinto in terms of next year.”
Could RB do a sudden U-turn on their interest in Franco Colapinto?
It would be a dramatic turn of events if RB were to reignite their interest in Colapinto given that they seem set to stick with drivers within their setup for 2025.
Hadjar has been told to perform in Abu Dhabi to land the RB seat, with a good result for Colapinto over teammate Alex Albon unlikely to change Red Bull’s mind about signing the Frenchman.
READ MORE: Who is Isack Hadjar as Red Bull prospect gets Abu Dhabi GP outing? Age, nationality, stats, and more
Hadjar may even already know he is racing for RB next season after many have noticed a change in demeanour and subsequently his performances. Horner was impressed with Hadjar in Qatar as he closed the gap to Bortoleto in the F2 standings.
For Colapinto, it is now looking like he will not be on the grid in 2025 as RB have the final seat available as he is set for a spell on the sidelines.
James Vowles says Colapinto would do no harm copying Esteban Ocon in becoming a reserve driver for 2026 at Williams, as the Haas-bound driver returned to an F1 seat after spending a year out of the car following his departure from Racing Point in 2018.
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