The infamous second Red Bull seat has destroyed careers. Albon, Gasly, Pérez and most recently Yuki Tsunoda all arrived full of hope and left bruised by the relentless benchmark of Max Verstappen. Now it’s Isack Hadjar’s turn – and the young Frenchman is taking a radically different approach.
Just 12 months after making his F1 debut with Racing Bulls, the 21-year-old has been handed the toughest job in motorsport: racing alongside the driver widely regarded as the best on the planet. Yet instead of bravado, Hadjar is choosing brutal honesty.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi moments after his promotion was confirmed, Hadjar laid out a mindset that feels almost revolutionary in the Red Bull environment.
“If I have one main target it’s to accept that I will be slower for the first few months,” he said. “I actually think it’s a positive to go in with that mentality, because otherwise it can become incredibly frustrating very quickly. If you already know it in advance, you’re mentally ready for it.”
It’s the polar opposite of what we’ve heard before. Tsunoda arrived declaring he would fight for a home podium at Suzuka. Lawson talked about “shocking” people. Both were swallowed whole by the challenge.
Isack Hadjar continued: “I think the others thought the opposite. Everyone believes they’re special. You arrive and tell yourself ‘he’s human, I’m going to beat him’. Then you get crushed and the snowball effect starts. We’re talking about the best driver on the grid, so the chances that I’m slower at the beginning of the year are very high. Better to accept it straight away and work from there. Of course I hope I’ll be as quick as him. I really hope so, but the probability is low.”
Why 2026 is the perfect reset
The complete regulation overhaul arriving next season is the biggest reason Isack Hadjar feels he can succeed where others failed. Unlike Tsunoda and Lawson, who were thrown into a car Verstappen had already mastered over years, everyone starts from zero in 2026.
“If I had to jump in for another year with the current rules there would be no way to beat him,” Isack Hadjar admitted. “But because nobody knows anything yet, maybe the driving style of the new car will suit me perfectly.”
He is under no illusions about Verstappen’s greatest strength, though:
“Max doesn’t have one driving style. He adapts to whatever he’s given – that’s what makes him so strong. He’ll be fast with next year’s cars exactly like he was with this year’s and the year before. He just constantly adapts.”
From pleasant surprise to Red Bull race driver
Helmut Marko first name-checked Hadjar as a potential star before the 2025 season even began. A string of mature, points-scoring drives and a stunning podium in the wet at Zandvoort turned words into action. The Racing Bulls car may have been friendlier than the senior RB21, but Hadjar’s ability to jump in and immediately go fast – plus ice-cool feedback in debriefs – sealed the deal.
Red Bull believe they have finally found a driver who combines raw speed with the mental strength to survive the Verstappen crucible. Hadjar isn’t predicting he’ll beat Max out of the box. He’s simply promising not to self-destruct trying.
In a team that has chewed up and spat out so many talented youngsters, that level-headed realism might just be the most dangerous weapon of all.
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