Sergio Pérez will leave Formula 1 next season, and as we reported yesterday, Red Bull have promoted Liam Lawson from their sister team RB to become Max Verstappen’s new teammate.
It was a decision that surprised many, as the most logical choice seemed to be Yuki Tsunoda, with more experience at RB, known as AlphaTauri in 2021, when the Japanese made his debut in F1. But the chosen one was Lawson, two years his junior, who only established himself as RB’s main driver in September 2024, when Daniel Ricciardo left.
With Lawson having moved to Red Bull, there was a vacancy at RB. And the chosen one was Isack Hadjar20-year-old French and Algerian driver, part of Red Bull Junior since 2021 while competing in Formula 2, being runner-up this year with Campos Racing, only behind Gabriel Bortoleto (who also made the jump to Formula 1, in joining the Kick Sauber team).
“I feel like I’m entering a whole new world, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It will be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and to do my best for the team,” Hadjar told formula1.com, who also praised Tsunoda: “I look forward to working with Yuki and learning from him. admired”
Hadjar is the 19th driver to come out of Red Bull’s junior program, which began in 2001, and has brought up drivers such as Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Ricciardo. Peter Bayer, CEO of Red Bull, said that “having a younger driver supports our mission to appeal to a younger audience, so we look forward to taking new and existing fans on the journey with We”.
