Red Bull Racing’s Unexpected Star – Isack Hadjar

The racing scene has witnessed a series of changes this season, particularly with Red Bull and its sister team, Racing Bulls. After losing the 2024 constructors’ championship to McLaren, the Milton Keynes outfit parted ways with Sergio Perez. In the ensuing shake-up, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were assessed for the seat alongside Max Verstappen, with the former ultimately securing the coveted spot for his rookie season.

A Rookie’s Journey – From Struggles to Success

However, after just two race weekends, Lawson found himself replaced by Tsunoda and moved back to the sister team. In stark contrast, Hadjar, also a rookie, has been delivering consistently impressive performances, save for his formation lap crash in Australia. The French-Algerian driver clinched his first Formula 1 points last weekend with an eighth-place finish in Japan.

During a conversation with Motorsport.com in Bahrain, Red Bull Racing motorsport advisor Helmut Marko expressed his admiration for Hadjar’s recent performances. “Hadjar is a big surprise. This is a circuit he knows, but everywhere we come, immediately he’s on speed, and very unspectacular, he provides a super performance,” Marko stated.

During practice sessions in Bahrain, Hadjar clocked the 12th fastest time in practice 1 and was sixth fastest in practice 2. It is important to note that practice sessions may not fully reflect race day performance. Nonetheless, the 20-year-old’s consistent speed has been a talking point among racing enthusiasts.

When asked about his aspirations for the future, Hadjar expressed his desire to continue driving alongside Verstappen, despite the recent struggles of his teammates. “Honestly, now that it seems like it’s really hard to be next to Max, it makes me want to go even more, to find out why, what’s going on. That’s still the main target,” he said.

Hadjar remains focused on his performance, putting pressure on himself to keep delivering. “It’s not like I don’t need to work anymore. Still, I always put the pressure on me to keep delivering. So now the expectations from people are maybe a bit higher, but I keep doing what I do,” he added.

Like he stated before the season, Hadjar’s target is to keep his car within the top 10, maximizing its potential. “Like I said before the season, my target would be to keep… If the car can finish in P9 or P8, I want to be there, maximise it, not being outside the top 10. If the car deserves the top 10, then I need to be on it.