This week’s chain of announcements at Red Bull, which began with the confirmation of the consensual separation from Sergio Perez and continued with the hiring of Liam Lawson to replace the Mexican, ended today with the confirmation of the Frenchman’s choice Isack Hadjar by Racing Bulls as Yuki Tsunoda’s new partner for the 2025 F1 season. Having turned 20 last September, Hadjar is a product of the Austrian team’s youth team and in the season just ended he competed in the F2 championship with the Campos Racing team, finishing in second position overall behind Gabriel Bortoleto, another rookie who we will see in action next year in F1.
Hadjar: “It will be a huge learning curve”
Hadjar will be the 19th driver brought to F1 debut since Red Bull Junior Programthe academy for young talents that began its work in 2001 and has produced prominent names such as Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, but also some meteors such as Jaime Alguersuari. In F1 the Frenchman already boasts four participations in Friday FP1, spread between 2023 and 2024 at the wheel of Red Bull and AlphaTauri.
Hadjar commented on his promotion to Racing Bulls: “I am very excited to begin my new role at VCARB, it’s a great thing for me, for my family and for all the people who believed in me from the beginning. The path from karting to the single-seater rankings, up to Formula One, is the moment I have worked for all my life, it is the dream. I feel like I’m entering a whole new universedriving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It will be a huge learning curve, but I am ready to work hard and do my best for the team“.
Of his new teammate Tsunoda, Hadjar added: “I look forward to working and learning from Yuki, I have always admired himfollowed the Red Bull Junior Program, like me, and we shared a similar path to F1. He has a lot of experience and it will be good to learn from him“.
Mekies: “Isack has the talent and grit needed to compete at the highest levels”
In 2023 Hadjar made his debut in F2 with a fourteenth place finish, while in 2022 he finished fourth in F3. This year he collected 4 victories and 4 other podiums, showing important progress. This is precisely an aspect he focused on Laurent Mekiesteam principal della Racing Bulls: “We are thrilled to have Isack join us next year, bringing a fresh new dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025. His journey to Formula One has been nothing short of exceptional, has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater rankings. He has the talent and drive to compete at the highest level and we are confident he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact“.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 05: Isack Hadjar of France and reserve driver for Oracle Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing walk in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 05, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202412050319 // Usage for editorial use only //
Speaking about the new pair of drivers from the Faenza team, Mekies added: “I think Isack and Yuki will make a great team. Yuki brings invaluable experience to the team, has demonstrated incredible resilience and maturity, which will be crucial for the team as we strive to achieve all our goals in 2025“. Alongside the rookie Hadjar, Tsunoda can now be considered an F1 veteran, given that 2025 will be his fifth season in the Circus, all played with AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls.
