The decision has finally been made: the two driver line-ups that Red Bull and RB will field on the grid during the next season have been defined. Alongside the four-time World Champion Max Verstappen Sergio Perez will not be there as per the contract – now terminated – but the New Zealander Liam Lawson. Il seat vacated by driver number #30 in Racing Bulls will come instead busy by a young talent coming from the preparatory category: Isack Hadjar.
The great opportunity for the French driver
For months now, rumors have been circulating in the paddock that the Perez-Red Bull story had reached the final credits. Denials have come from both sides, but the disappointments and the difficulty obvious of the Mexican have done nothing but fuel the chatter regarding his future in Formula 1. Red Bull – as reported to the press by consultant Helmut Marko – has called a meeting after the final weekend in Abu Dhabi to discuss the fate of Checo and the line-ups of the two “cousin” teams.
With Perez out, the Austrian team chose to entrust the driving of the other car to Liam Lawson. By doing so, Racing Bulls started the research to find the substitute for the New Zealander who will join Yuki Tsunoda. THE candidates main ones for the last vacancy for the 2025 grid were two: Franco Colapinto e Isack Hadjar. The Argentine took over from Logan Sargeant starting from the Monza Grand Prix, then finishing the season with 5 total points in 6 races. The other contender for the seat was Isack Hadjar, pilota della Red Bull Junior Academy who has been busy this 2024 season in Formula 2 with the Campos Racing team.
In fact, it is not something new that Marko wants to bring young talents on the track grew up in the junior program of the Milton Keynes team. For the final choice VCARB certainly took into account the Argentine’s performances with Williams which began to decline towards the end of the season – even the accidents did not go unnoticed. Colapinto got a first taste of the Circus, but now this Isack Hadjar will also have the opportunity. RB has chosen to place its trust in the French driver, born in 2004, who with today’s announcement becomes a full-fledged Formula 1 driver.
Hadjar will make his F1 debut with Racing Bulls
Isack Hadjar he will make his Formula 1 debut in 2025, but he won’t be the only rookie. In fact, they will be on the grid with him four other new entries: Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto. Precisely with the latter the French pilot he fought to win the title of Formula 2 Champion. In the last Feature Race of the season, however, a stall problem at the start condemned him to second place in the standings, allowing Bortoleto to grab the Championship victory.
“It’s the worst moment of my life”, he reported via radio immediately after the incident. Not being able to fight for the title until the last corner was certainly an issue difficult mouthful to swallow by Hadjar. The former pilot Campos does However, it can now be consoled with a seat in the highest category. The Frenchman took part in four free practice sessions over the last two years and at the end of 2024 he had the opportunity to hit the asphalt in the post-season tests held on the Yas Marina track. Isack got behind the wheel of the RB20 – which he had previously driven in FP1 also in Abu Dhabi – and surprised, with the same car and with the disadvantage of a compound, placing ahead of his future teammate Tsunoda.
Le parole di Hadjar
“I’m excited to step into my new role at VCARB, it’s a huge thing for me, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning. The journey from karting through the single-seater ranks to Formula One is the moment I’ve worked for all my life, it’s the dream. I feel like I’m walking in
in a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and competing 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. I look forward to working with Yuki and learning from him. I’ve always looked up to him, he came through the Red Bull Junior Programme, like me, and we shared a similar path to getting to F1. He has a lot of experience and it will be useful to learn from him.”
