Isack Hadjar admits concern over “weird” Red Bull seat before 2026 promotion

TL;DR

Isack Hadjar expressed concerns about the Red Bull seat before his promotion for 2026. He aimed to impress in his rookie season, finishing 12th in the championship and securing a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Key points

Isack Hadjar joined Red Bull for the 2026 season.
He finished 12th in the drivers' championship in 2025.
Hadjar secured his first F1 podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Red Bull has struggled with its second driver position recently.
Hadjar replaced Yuki Tsunoda for the 2026 season.

Mentioned in this story

Isack Hadjar

Red Bull

Motorsport photo

Isack Hadjar has revealed that he had concerns about the second Red Bull seat before signing with the Milton Keynes outfit, but that impressing in his rookie season and earning the promotion was always his plan.

The French-Algerian driver joined Racing Bulls in 2025 for his debut season in Formula 1. He finished the year 12th in the drivers' championship with 51 points and secured his maiden F1 podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, which was enough to impress Red Bull. He signed as four-time champion Max Verstappen's team-mate for 2026.

Red Bull has struggled with its second driver in recent years. Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Perez in 2025, but lasted only two race weekends before he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver remained in the position until the end of 2025, but now serves as a reserve driver after Hadjar claimed the full-time seat.

"I really enjoyed it, I must say," Hadjar told F1 when asked about his quick trajectory from Racing Bulls to Red Bull. "Coming back to pressure, I felt OK. Of course, I felt very stressed at the start of the year, I didn't have much mileage in F1.