The Parisian, runner-up in Formula 2 this season with the Campos team despite numerous mechanical problems, managed to persuade the Italian team, Red Bull's little sister, to trust her to succeed New Zealander Liam Lawson.
The latter was in fact promoted to the Austrian team alongside the reigning Dutch quadruple world champion Max Verstappen after the ousting of the Mexican Sergio Pérez, dismissed due to mediocre results.
“It’s huge for me, for my family and for everyone who believed in me from the start,” rejoiced Hadjar, quoted in the press release from his new team.
“The journey that took me from karting to single-seaters, then today to Formula 1, is the moment I have worked for all my life, it’s a dream,” he underlined.
“He must be more patient and less impulsive”
Hadjar will thus become 72e French driver to race in Formula 1 and the third on the current grid with Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine). This is the first time since 2018 that a French “rookie” will be on the starting line of a season.
Nicknamed “little Prost” by the influential Austrian advisor of Red Bull Helmut Marko, also responsible for the young driver sector of the Austrian team, the Habs have shown great things this season, notably winning four races and winning eight podiums in Formula 2.
“I actually analyze a lot when I ride, I use my head. It’s really my universe, it’s my domain and I master it so I allow myself to think about things that don’t disturb me,” Hadjar explained at the beginning of December.
A description which brings him closer to Alain Prost, nicknamed “The Professor” because of his intellectual approach to racing. But there is still a long way to go to follow in the footsteps of the four-time French Formula 1 world champion.
“I want to be there to fight, to win.”
Especially since Hadjar will have to learn to channel his energy but above all his frustration, which he sometimes lets appear on the radio. Even if he speaks loudly more than he gets angry, his interventions are sometimes considered as verbal outbursts which will be less easily tolerated in F1, where he will be much more exposed than in F2.
“His parents and his sister are very intelligent, so he too should use his head a little more sometimes, it's one of his weak points. He must be more patient and less impulsive. He has a lot of temperament, is too capricious sometimes,” said Helmut Marko at the beginning of December.
“I have the level”
»But he has made a lot of progress in this area. He is one of our most promising and fastest young drivers. And he also knows how to manage his tires very well, which is very important today. He lost more than 80 points this season due to mechanical problems, but he hung on until the last race, which proves his mental strength,” added the Austrian veteran.
Hadjar, who was rather quick when he drove the Red Bull single-seaters during several free practice sessions or during the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of December, where he beat his future Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda, will now have to confirm over time that he has the qualities to compete in Formula 1, which he has no doubt about.
“I proved what I had to prove in F2 and I have the level to drive in F1. But I don't want to go to F1 to make up the numbers. I don't want to be there just to be there and vegetate, there's no point in that. I want to be there to fight, to win,” he said.
Confident, Hadjar will have no room for error in the Red Bull galaxy, which does not hesitate to dismiss its drivers during the season if they are not performing well. Which doesn't scare him: “I'm ready for F1,” he concludes.
