F1 | Who will be Isack Hadjar’s race engineer at Red Bull?
Isack Hadjar, following an impressive debut season with VCARB, has earned a promotion to Red Bull. Despite a slightly challenging start to his rookie year, the young French driver achieved notable results, including his first Formula 1 podium, catching the attention of Milton Keynes management. Shortly before the final race of the season, Red Bull officially announced Hadjar’s promotion. In 2026, he will race alongside Max Verstappen, but the question remains: who will be his race engineer?
After completing the Abu Dhabi tests, Hadjar will officially debut with Red Bull in Barcelona at the end of January during the first pre-season test session. With the introduction of the new technical regulations this year, teams will have three sessions at their disposal, including one behind closed doors, to gather initial data on their cars.
The race engineer
Max Verstappen, despite some rumors, will continue working with his long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Hadjar, after his promotion to Red Bull, will be paired with Richard Wood. According to GPBlog, Wood has previously served as a race engineer on multiple occasions, supporting drivers such as Sergio Pérez, as well as more recently Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. Therefore, for the 2026 F1 season, Red Bull’s lineup will feature the pairs Verstappen-Lambiase and Hadjar-Wood.
Richard Wood joined Red Bull in 2012. For several years, he served as a performance engineer for Sergio Pérez before taking over as race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird, specifically for the Mexican driver. Since 2025, Wood has held the role on a permanent basis, bringing his experience and technical expertise to support the team’s drivers effectively.
For the 2026 F1 season, the Red Bull garage will therefore be comprised of the Verstappen-Lambiase duo and the new Hadjar-Wood partnership. Richard Wood first joined the Red Bull Racing family back in 2012. For a significant period, he served as the performance engineer for Sergio Pérez before stepping up to become a race engineer, notably filling in for Hugh Bird for the Mexican driver. Since 2025, he has held this position on a permanent basis, bringing a wealth of experience to the side of the garage tasked with nurturing Red Bull’s latest rising star.
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