In an interview with F1, the new Visa Cash App RB driver Isack Hadjar confessed that his idol is Lewis Hamilton
The month of December was certainly a month of big changes at Red Bull. The separation with Sergio Perez, after the Mexican's terrible season, was the icing on the cake of an unmemorable year for the Milton Keynes team, dotted with multiple wrong choices during 2024. Not having seized the opportunity to hire Carlos Sainz leaving from Ferrari (and already “released” in February), and having waited a long time for the performances of Sergio Perez have certainly condemned the Austrian team to look around only at the end of the season, evaluating a lot carefully the own pilot nursery and eyeing external opportunities (Franco Colapinto first and foremost).
And that's how the names arose Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar: the former had already amazed at the wheel of Racing Bulls in 2023, making his debut in Singapore with an astonishing qualifying (in which he ousted Max Verstappen), and then produced good performances in 2024 in place of Daniel Ricciardoespecially in wheel-to-wheel duels (especially with Perez); the second, however, will be making his absolute debut in F1 driving the Visa Cash App RB, after losing the F2 World Championship in the last race against Bortoletothe latter driving Mattia Binotto's Sauber. An almost “old-fashioned” philosophy that of Horner and Marko: plenty of space for young people, but hoping this time not to “burn them out”.
Hadjar's words: “My idol is Lewis Hamilton”
The Visa Cash App announcement announcing Isack Hadjar in F1 in 2025 surprised everyone a bit, especially if we then observe that Franco Colapinto, a rookie who unfortunately risks never seeing the circus again in his career, had given so many emotions and action-packed races at Williams. The winner was the French gem from Red Bull, who therefore did not hide from the microphones his joy at landing in the top flight: “I really am excited to take on my new role at VCARBis a huge achievement for me. From karts to single-seater categories, up to Formula 1it's the moment I've worked for my whole life, it's the dream“.
Then to the question “Who inspires you?“Isack responded like this: “Lewis Hamilton. I grew up watching him, and since I was three years old, I've always been a fan of his and I rooted for him until he won seven titles. I was really happy to support the idol who was winning everything and I think he is the most complete driver out there. Since I started racing, I became even more interested in Formula 1 and it was clear to me that Lewis was the guy to beat and the reference for me, so I always looked at him as the GOAT. I love it and it inspires me so much in everything I do”.
Foto: Oracle Red Bull Racing
