Isack Hadjar passes first Red Bull test as podium target raises the stakes. Isack Hadjar sets podium target after impressive first half with Red Bull.

Isack Hadjar believes he has made major progress during his first half-season alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, but the Frenchman has now set himself a considerably tougher objective: fighting for Formula 1 podiums. After initially struggling with consistency, Isack Hadjar has closed the gap to his four-time World Champion team-mate and reached the summer break only 41 points behind Max Verstappen.

The summer shutdown represents something close to the halfway point of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Eleven races have been completed, with 12 still to come, providing a useful opportunity to assess how the championship is developing and how individual drivers have performed through the opening part of the new regulatory era.

Isack Hadjar faced a demanding first Red Bull test

For Isack Hadjar, the season brought several major challenges at once. He had to adapt to Formula 1’s new technical regulations, become immediately competitive with one of the championship’s leading teams in his first year at Red Bull and, perhaps most importantly, prove that he could operate somewhere close to Max Verstappen’s level.

The task was never realistically about beating Max Verstappen immediately. The more relevant test was whether Isack Hadjar could avoid falling significantly behind a driver whose recent Red Bull team-mates have often struggled to match his performance. His first half of the campaign has therefore provided encouraging evidence, with Isack Hadjar’s progress at Red Bull emerging as one of the more notable stories of the season.

Hadjar admits his start to 2026 was difficult

“The start was a little complicated,” Isack Hadjar admitted to Crash.net.

It took the French driver some time to find his rhythm. Across the opening four rounds, Isack Hadjar scored only four points, all of them coming from his eighth-place finish in China. From Canada onwards, however, something began to change significantly.

“In Australia and China, it was as if I was getting the easy things wrong, while the difficult things, like maintaining a competitive pace and being almost as fast as Max, I was doing very well. In the last few Grands Prix, I’ve found more consistency and, within the team, we’ve solved some problems that are making my life easier. Everything is easier when the car is reliable and everything works properly,” Isack Hadjar explained.

That increased consistency has helped Isack Hadjar establish himself much more firmly within Red Bull. The Frenchman enters the break 41 points behind Max Verstappen, a relatively small deficit given the difficulties experienced by several drivers who have previously occupied the second Red Bull seat. The current positions of both drivers can be followed in the 2026 Formula 1 driver standings.

Isack Hadjar’s next Red Bull target is the podium

The first major test has therefore been passed successfully, but the next step is considerably more demanding. Isack Hadjar has already shown that he can stay relatively close to Max Verstappen and produce competitive performances in a Red Bull. Now he wants to turn that progress into results at the very front of the field.

“I’m performing well, I’ve achieved some good results, but now I want to fight for the podium. That’s my next target. I wasn’t surprised by the level I’ve reached. I’ve been driving at a very high level, definitely better than last year. It’s still only my second season, I need to improve,” Isack Hadjar concluded.

The challenge during the second half of 2026 will therefore be different from the one he faced at the beginning of the year. Establishing himself at Red Bull and avoiding a substantial performance gap to Max Verstappen was the first objective. Converting that foundation into podium challenges will require another step in consistency, execution and outright performance.

For now, Isack Hadjar can enter the summer break with evidence that his adaptation is heading in the right direction. Being only 41 points behind Max Verstappen after 11 rounds represents an encouraging first-half result, but the Frenchman clearly has no intention of treating it as the end point. The next examination is to prove he can turn his growing confidence into regular battles near the front of the Formula 1 grid.