A Young Lewis Fan
Following Red Bull’s announcement of Sergio Perez‘s departure and the signing of New Zealander Liam Lawson for the 2025 season, Racing Bulls — the second team in the Austrian ‘family’ — officially confirmed the signing of Isack Hadjar. Coming from the Milton Keynes academy and finishing second in the F2 season, the Franco-Algerian will make his Grand Prix debut next year.
Over the past two seasons, Isack Hadjar has already participated in four free practice sessions: one with AlphaTauri in 2023 and three with Red Bull between 2023 and 2024. Despite being part of Red Bull’s junior program for several years, Isack Hadjar has never hidden the fact that, as a child, he was a fan of Lewis Hamilton. He has emphasized in multiple interviews and even in old social media posts his admiration for the seven-time champion.
The Missed Greeting in Mexico 2023
A team radio from his first official F1 outing went viral on social media following Racing Bulls‘ announcement. At the end of the FP1 session during the 2023 Mexican GP, the 2004-born driver explicitly asked his race engineer if he could stop to greet the British champion, who was following him just a few seconds behind in his Mercedes.
“It was the best day of my life, it was incredible,” Isack Hadjar said over the radio after the session. Then, his race engineer alerted him to the presence of the #44 Mercedes behind him: “You’ve got Hamilton behind you, four seconds away.” The communication thrilled the Frenchman, who responded, “I want to greet Lewis!” as he slowed down to let his idol catch up. However, the on-track exchange of pleasantries didn’t happen, as Isack Hadjar was instructed to pick up the pace and return to the pits.
Next year, though, Isack Hadjar will have 24 weekends to greet his idol—and maybe even challenge him on the track.
He’s already a f1 driver but I’ll keep going 😃
“I want to wave at Lewis” 🥹 https://t.co/sZZqo03sIP pic.twitter.com/iLn4DUxXtH
— Dani 44 (@Dan_LH44) December 20, 2024
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