Isack Hadjar has shared that he had concerns regarding the second seat at Red Bull before signing with the Milton Keynes team. However, the French-Algerian driver asserts that impressing in his debut season and achieving promotion has always been his main goal.
Hadjar joined Racing Bulls in 2025 to make his Formula 1 debut. Throughout his first season, he finished twelfth in the drivers’ championship, accumulating 51 points and achieving his first podium at the Netherlands Grand Prix. These performances were enough to earn him the trust of Red Bull, who have decided he will be Max Verstappen’s teammate for the 2026 season.
The difficulty of the second seat at Red Bull
Red Bull has experienced difficulties with their second driver in recent years. In 2025, Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Pérez, but only maintained the seat for two races before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver occupied the position until the end of the year, but now finds himself as a reserve driver after Hadjar assumed the main seat.
Regarding his rise, Hadjar has highlighted: “I enjoyed this experience a lot. I felt pressure at the beginning of the year, as I had not accumulated much mileage in F1”. He assures that he felt confident and always kept his focus on the goal of having a great rookie season and moving up to Red Bull.
Concerns about the seat
Referring to his concerns about the second seat, Hadjar commented: “Of course, I thought about it, observing the performance differences between Max’s teammates, it seemed strange to me. However, I am realistic about the situation”.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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