Isack Hadjar is excited to be partners with F1 world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull, as he doesn’t see the ‘second seat’ as a curse in new era.
Hadjar will be Verstappen’s seventh teammate at Red Bull in F1 2026. He will follow on after Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. They all tried to go toe-to-toe with the Dutchman, but it didn’t work out.
The Mexican probably was the closest considering his experience, but in terms of qualifying difference, on average everyone ended up around half a second behind Verstappen. But Hadjar is not wary of the ‘second seat curse’. He feels the all-new regulations in F1 2026 provided an even field.
He feels confident at adapting to different cars and so he doesn’t see 2026 as a big problem. “Well, it’s not true,” said Hadjar. “It’s not the same car at all next year. So that’s it. We’re going to get the car we have. The team is going to build this car. I have to adapt to that car, and Max will have to do the same job. And if the car goes into one direction, at least I’ll be there to feel the change.
“And ideally, I contribute to that change. So, you know, that would be the ideal scenario. And, you know, I’ve never repeated every year. I’ve always competed in different cars, so I don’t know what it’s like doing twice the same thing, the same job. So I think I’m pretty decent at adapting, so I’m actually confident. Of course, because it’s a new regulation, so the timing is just very ideal for me.
“And then in terms of styles, I think obviously Max is very unique – he has a very unique style – and I would say myself as well. So I’m not obviously trying to copy what he’s doing. But in terms of mindset, we have some things in common. But yeah, that’s it,” summed up Hadjar, who managed to score a podium in his debut F1 season which Tsunoda and Lawson did not manage to.
Even though Hadjar admires Lewis Hamilton, the Frenchman is looking forward to partnering Verstappen at Red Bull. The idea of going up against a proven F1 world champion excites him, as it will be his first big test against a driver like the Dutchman.
“What I find very impressive with Max is that after four world championships, he’s still very, very hungry and very mad when it doesn’t go his way, because he always wants to win,” said Hadjar. “And I don’t think every champion can do that. Once you pass a certain level, you can maybe slow down a bit in your approach, but he seems to be starving, just like I am. So, it’s very impressive.
“Honestly, there’s two things – being in a world champion team. When I grew up watching Formula 1, I saw Vettel winning all these races, as a kid, with Red Bull. And being teammates with Max, to see what it’s like – what facing the best level in the world feels like. It’s definitely super-exciting,” summed up Hadjar.
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