– Isack Hadjar initially had concerns about the second Red Bull cockpit before opting for the Milton Keynes team. Now the young driver emphasizes that his original plan was always to impress in his debut season. This was meant to secure his promotion to the higher category.
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The French-Algerian racing driver joined Racing Bulls in 2025 for his debut season in Formula 1. He finished the year with 51 points in twelfth place in the drivers’ standings and secured his first podium at the Dutch Grand Prix – enough to convince Red Bull. For 2026, he signed as teammate to four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
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Red Bull has repeatedly had problems filling the second cockpit in recent years. Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Perez in 2025 but only lasted two race weekends before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver remained in that position until the end of the 2025 season but now serves as a reserve driver after Hadjar took over the main cockpit.
“I really enjoyed it, I have to say,” Hadjar explains to F1.com, referring to his rapid ascent from Racing Bulls to Red Bull. “As for the pressure, I felt okay. Of course, I was very stressed at the beginning of the year; I didn’t have much experience in a Formula 1 car.”
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“I thought to myself: ‘This is a big deal. It’s the biggest championship. It’s the last year of these regulations, so everyone is pushing flat out. I have the speed. Will I be three tenths behind? Will I have trouble catching up?’ But in fact, it never happened that way. I was immediately in rhythm. And I have to say, I’m just really enjoying it.”
Hadjar adds: “I knew: if I did my job properly, I would get the seat, the promotion. To be honest, that was my goal for this year. I always said, ‘I’ll take it step by step, blah blah blah,’ but actually, I wanted to show a really strong rookie season, get promoted to Red Bull, and be done with it.”
When asked if he had concerns about the second Red Bull cockpit, the 21-year-old replied: “Of course, I did in a way, because you look at the gaps between Max and his teammates and you think: ‘Wow, that’s really strange.’ But at the same time, I’m a realist.”
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