Isack Hadjar has the backing of teammate Max Verstappen as he takes over Red Bull’s infamous second seat.
The young Frenchman was arguably Formula 1’s most impressive rookie in 2025, scoring 51 points, including a brilliant podium at Zandvoort.
Those performances saw Hadjar promoted to become Verstappen’s seventh different teammate since he joined Red Bull in 2016.
Turning 🆙 the shine ✨#F1 || #RedBullRacing pic.twitter.com/r79PPiN4DZ
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) January 29, 2026
And while many have come before, the four-time world champion does think the 21-year-old has the chance to prove himself.
“Why not?” Verstappen told Blick. “After a great first season with Racing Bulls, he deserves a chance with Red Bull.
“And with the new rules, there are sure to be surprises, so we may see some new names at the front.”
Hadjar had a mixed start at his first Red Bull test last week in Spain, completing over 100 laps on a strong first day, before crashing on Day 2.
“It was nice to have a good day on Monday,” he reflected. “It was very productive and we managed to do a lot more laps than we had expected, everything went pretty smooth and we had only minor issues.
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“It was quite impressive considering it was our first day with our own power unit.
“Unfortunately, on Tuesday, just after switching from wets to inters, I lost control of the car in the final corner, and I know the aftermath wasn’t ideal for the team.”
In fact, Red Bull had to fly spares out to Barcelona to repair its RB22, with Verstappen only running on the final day.
“The positive is that I have already started to understand and work on things in the car, there are still a lot of things to tweak of course, but it has been steady so far,” Hadjar continued.
“These cars are different, very different, there is definitely a lot less load in general and it is a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation, they are a bit more straightforward.
“It is easier to play around with them, and on the PU [power unit] side, there are a lot more options for the driver to play with.
“I couldn’t have prepared for this season any better, and I am hoping to come into the year strongly, but we are definitely not done with the work yet, I am learning every day.”
Speaking at the recent Autosport Awards, Hadjar was asked about his goals for 2026…
“It’s like rolling a dice with the new regulation,” he suggested. “Bold… fighting for the world title, I guess. That’s bold enough.”
