Despite the struggles for Max Verstappen’s recent teammates in the second Red Bull, Isack Hadjar has his eye on the prize.

Isack Hadjar is a future contender for a Red Bull Racing F1 seat, and the French driver says he’s not put off by the struggles of the recent occupants of the second Red Bull seat.

Isack Hadjar: Red Bull still the main target

The obvious path of upward mobility for any driver in the Racing Bulls squad is to be promoted to the senior Red Bull F1 team, a reward that Liam Lawson recently earned after impressing alongside Yuki Tsunoda during a short stint toward the end of 2024.

Following the split of Red Bull and Sergio Perez, Lawson was promoted alongside Verstappen into the second seat, but immediately struggled for pace and form – to the extent where Red Bull oped to move him back into the sister team in a bid to protect his future and his mental health.

In Lawson’s place, Red Bull promoted Yuki Tsunoda but in his first race weekend with the team, Tsunoda slumped into the lower midfield after being outqualified by Lawson and Hadjar.

Given the difficulties his stablemates appear to be having acclimating to the second Red Bull seat, one might suspect that the seat might be eyed with trepidation by those next in line, but Hadjar said the prospect of earning that promotion is still at the top of his agenda.

“Honestly, it seems like it’s really hard to be next to Max,” Hadjar told the media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“It makes me want to go even more, to find out why, you know, what’s going on.

“But, yeah, that’s still the main target.”

Hadjar has shown his resilience in recent weeks, having bounced back from a massive disappointment in Australia, where he crashed out on the formation lap. He followed that disappointment up with a solid 11th place in China, before scoring his first points with eighth place in Japan – a performance in which he’d even outqualified Lewis Hamilton on Saturday.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I don’t need to work,” he said when asked if his confidence has returned after the shock in Melbourne.

“I always put the pressure on me to keep delivering. Now, the expectations from people are maybe a bit higher, but I keep doing what I do.

“I think, in China, I was straight back on the pace and completely forgot about what happened, so I know how to do that.

“Now, being rewarded with points definitely gives a bit more confidence, for sure.”

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The young rookie, who finished second in Formula 2 last year, appears to be adjusting very quickly to his new surroundings – a feat even experienced drivers like Hamilton and Carlos Sainz are struggling to match.

As for why this is, Hadjar said he doesn’t feel like things are completely new to him.

“My first running in F1 was in 2023 already, so I had, like, a first taste,” he said.

“I’ve been in the sim for two years now. My mileage was not excessive, that’s for sure, but I’ve been around the team as a reserve as well.

“So I feel like, apart from adapting to the car itself, all the processes were both clear and not new to me during the season.”

Having broken his duck and scoring points already, the French driver explained he isn’t getting carried away and that his target of maximising his results remains unchanged.

“Like I said before the season, my target would be… if the car can finish in P9 or P8, I want to be there, maximising it and not being outside the top 10,” he said.

“If the car deserves the top 10, then I need to be on it.”

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