There has been an influx of rookies in Formula 1 in 2025 and some have had it easier than others adapting to the pressures of the championship.
Liam Lawson lasted just two races at Red Bull before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, while Jack Doohan is also hanging on to his seat at Alpine but is expected to yield to Franco Colapinto.
It was a difficult start to F1 for Isack Hadjar, having crashed out of his debut race on the formation lap in Australia, but the Racing Bulls driver has been impressing since.
Hadjar finished in the points in Japan and most recently Saudi Arabia, having chased down the Williams drivers in the closing stages of the race.
Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen discussed his race on the F1 Nation podcast and named him his standout rookie driver in 2025.
Tom Kristensen has been ‘incredibly impressed’ by Isack Hadjar
Williams employed the same tactics that enabled Carlos Sainz to win the 2023 Singapore GP in Jeddah, by using Alex Albon as a backstop to Hadjar.
This effectively prevented Hadjar from getting the DRS to make a move on both drivers, as it created a ‘train effect’ where he could only follow. Hadjar likely had the pace to finish higher into the top ten places without this problem.
“I will also say that I’m still incredibly impressed by Hadjar and in general the Racing Bulls, they came with a low downforce configuration,” said Kirstensen.
“They were 10th but Lawson got the penalty and finished 12th, but on the road they were 10th and 11th.”
- READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know
Isack Hadjar is Red Bull’s top-scoring second driver in 2025
Remarkably, Hadjar is the top-scoring second driver at Red Bull after the difficult starts for Tsunoda and Lawson.
Tsunoda only recently equalled his points total of five at Bahrain with a ninth-place finish, while Hadjar has finished higher on average than the Japanese driver.
| Driver | Points |
| Max Verstappen | 87 |
| Isack Hadjar | 5 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 5 |
| Liam Lawson | 0 |
Liam Lawson has yet to score any points so far, but got close in Saudi Arabia had it not been for a time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
By contrast, Max Verstappen is on 87 points showing the gulf of performance between the Dutchman and his teammates so far in 2025.
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