Isack Hadjar considers the opportunity to race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull a genuine privilege, despite the enormous challenge of matching the four-time Formula 1 world champion. The 21-year-old believes sharing the same machinery gives him a rare chance to measure himself directly against what he considers the highest level on the current F1 grid.
Max Verstappen has established himself as one of Formula 1’s most consistent and competitive drivers, repeatedly setting a pace that has proved difficult for his team-mates to match. For Isack Hadjar, however, that makes the challenge more valuable rather than more intimidating as he continues adapting to life inside Red Bull’s senior team.
Isack Hadjar embraces the Max Verstappen challenge at Red Bull
Hadjar earned the second Red Bull seat for the 2026 season after spending only one year with sister team Racing Bulls. The Frenchman has impressed with a string of consistent top-six results and is heading towards a likely confirmation for 2027.
His development during his first year at Milton Keynes has already been one of Red Bull’s most interesting storylines, with Isack Hadjar’s progress assessed at the 2026 F1 summer break after the opening 11 rounds.
Speaking on the Talking Bull podcast about how he approaches the internal comparison with Verstappen, Hadjar explained why he sees the situation as such a valuable opportunity.
“I’ve always been curious to know what the highest level in the world was. What is it like to share the same car with the best driver on the grid? At 21, I’m lucky enough to be able to compare myself with Max and see what he does.”
Max Verstappen leads Hadjar 8-3 in 2026 qualifying battle
The statistics underline just how demanding that benchmark is. Max Verstappen has outqualified Isack Hadjar eight times to three during the opening 11 race weekends of 2026, a head-to-head that reflects the Dutchman’s continued strength over one lap.
Hadjar is nevertheless continuing to build confidence in his new Red Bull environment. His performances have also helped keep him firmly in the championship picture, with his position relative to Verstappen and the rest of the field available in the latest 2026 Formula 1 driver standings.
The Frenchman’s promotion represented a significant step after his rookie campaign with Racing Bulls, putting him directly alongside one of the toughest team-mate benchmarks Formula 1 can offer. Red Bull made the change as part of its 2026 Formula 1 driver line-up, giving Hadjar the opportunity to establish himself at the senior team.
Hadjar: Verstappen sets an ‘extremely high’ benchmark
Rather than becoming frustrated by the gap to Verstappen, Hadjar appears determined to use his team-mate’s performance as a reference point. Every session provides an opportunity to study how the four-time world champion extracts performance from the same Red Bull machinery.
“Every time he is on track, he sets an extremely high benchmark and a level that is really difficult to reach. It’s always impressive to have him alongside you.”
For Hadjar, the challenge is therefore about more than simply beating his team-mate. Racing alongside Verstappen allows him to see first-hand what is required at the very highest level of Formula 1, while giving Red Bull an immediate measure of how quickly its young French driver is progressing.
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