Isack Hadjar

Isack Hadjar will be the next F1 driver to become Max Verstappen's teammate, having earned promotion to Red Bull for 2026. 

Hadjar's road to Red Bull

Isack Hadjar made the step up to F1 from Formula 2 with Racing Bulls in 2025.

Hadjar was the latest young talent given an opportunity by Helmut Marko and Red Bull to impress in F1. 

While his temperament and general level of performance were questioned by Red Bull’s senior management, a seat opened up at Racing Bulls for 2025 alongside Yuki Tsunoda following Sergio Perez’s exit from the main team. Hadjar will be under pressure, though, as Red Bull have 17-year-old talent Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings.

Tsunoda's promotion to Red Bull, and Liam Lawson's demotion to Racing Bulls, after two rounds of the 2025 season gave Hadjar a new teammate and reminded him of the ruthless decision-making of the organisation.

Hadjar’s breakthrough came in 2019 when he graduated to junior formulae, competing in French Formula 4. He made a natural progression to the Formula Regional European Championship in 2021, finishing fifth in the standings.

With Red Bull’s backing, Hadjar continued to make steady progress up the junior ladder while showing great potential. By 2023, Hadjar was in F2, but his rookie season didn’t go to plan as he could only secure 14th in the final classification.

Hadjar came of age in 2024, finishing runner-up to Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto. During this time, Hadjar tested for Red Bull on several occasions, ultimately securing a full-time drive for 2025.

Hadjar produced an impressive rookie season as he put behind him the heartbreak of crashing out of his debut F1 race in Australia on the formation lap. 

The Frenchman finished 12th in the drivers' standings and outperformed both Tsunoda and Lawson at Racing Bulls. 

An outstanding podium and third place finish at Zandvoort was the obvious highlight from a season that ultimately paved the way to Hadjar getting the chance to prove himself against Verstappen at the senior team in 2026.