Sergio Pérez will leave Formula 1 next season, and as we reported yesterday, Red Bull has promoted Liam Lawson from their sister team RB to step in as Max Verstappen new team mate.
It was a move that surprised many, because the most logical choice appeared to be Yuki Tsunoda, with more experience at RB, known as AlphaTauri in 2021, when the Japanese debuted in F1. But the chosen one was Lawson, two years younger, who only established himself as the main RB driver in September 2024, when Daniel Ricciardo left.
With Lawson moved to Red Bull, there was a vacant at RB. And the chosen one has been Isack Hadjar, 20-year-old French and Algerian driver, part of Red Bull Junior since 2021 while also competing in Formula 2, being the runner up this year with Campos Racing, only behind Gabriel Bortoleto (who has also made the jump to Formula 1, joining Kick Sauber team).
"I feel like I'm stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It'll be a huge learning curve, but I'm ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team", said Hadjar at formula1.com, who also praised Tsunoda: "I look forward to working with and learning from Yuki. I've always looked up to him"
Hadjar is the 19th driver to step up from the Red Bull junior programme, which started in 2001, and has lifted drives such as Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Ricciardo. Red Bull CEO Peter Bayer said that "having a younger driver supports our mission to speak to a younger audience, so we look forward to bringing new and existing fans on the journey with us".