Isack Hadjar recalls how he had support from Helmut Marko despite a mixed run in F2 season and if he had second thoughts on making in F1.
Despite being part of the Red Bull family, it isn’t given that the driver makes it in F1. Hadjar was in the same category. His first year with HitechGP didn’t give him the results he hoped for, where he finished 14th. That put him in two minds about making it in F1, considering how Marko is.
But he turned things around in 2024 when he switched to Campos Racing. He fought for the title against Gabriel Bortoleto. He lost but he did enough to secure F1 seat after Red Bull dropped Sergio Perez. Hadjar admits it was tough wait and he didn’t know until he got the call.
He thanked Marko for persisting with him, but he thinks Red Bull made the right decision. “Yeah, I mean, it’s not up to me to decide, obviously,” said Hadjar to media. “And I think, to be fair, this year I’ve had enough credit since the start of the year, so I’m not going to take the piss too much on that, to be honest. It’s been very uncertain, very stressful.
“I was fighting for F2 at the time, so I was trying to give my best. And to be fair, I didn’t know until I got called. So it’s been a tough ride, but they made the right decision, so I’m happy. I think raw speed and talent has always been there. I didn’t learn how to drive faster the last three seasons. It’s not true, it’s just… I remember my year in HitechGP in F2 has been an absolute nightmare.
“I had this moment where I was like, ‘I’m never going to make it to F1’, but thankfully I had very strong support from Helmut. He kept believing, and he gave me a second chance, which I took, as well as mental strength, obviously, because you need to not give up in those moments. You need strong people around and people that trust in you, and this is what I had.
“I had really good people around who believed in me, and that’s how I got back up, basically,” summed up Hadjar, who says self-doubts is always there and it was same for him. It is a big step to F1 from F2, so doubts always remained. Even in his official FP1 session, he was only focused on doing well rather than what it entails.
“Not really, because I think there’s no hazards,” said Hadjar. “If you make it to F1, then it’s not by luck. Obviously, you know you’re quite okay, but at the same time, you always have doubts, and it’s normal. You always question yourself whether you’re good enough, and that’s what I thought. I had doubts because I didn’t have a lot of mileage.
“It’s a big step to F2, but in the end, I’m fully used to its speed, and I’m not surprised. I don’t know, it was my first time driving an F1 car. It was in an official session, and I was okay. You have an opportunity, and you need to show up. That’s what I do. Yeah, position there and there, but that’s my mindset.”
Here’s Liam Lawson on confidence after Alan Permane’s say
