Hadjar labels Red Bull hope ‘on the trajectory’ amid ‘scared’ admission – round-up

Henry Valantine 17 Sep 2025 11:00 PM

Isack Hadjar is looking to put himself in contention to drive at Red Bull next season.

Your Wednesday dose of F1 news has landed, as we begin to look ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend.

There is plenty to get through, so let’s get straight into the day’s big headlines.

Hadjar: ‘It’s written’ about Red Bull but no decision yet

Isack Hadjar has spoken about the prospect of partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year, but PlanetF1.com understands no decision has been made just yet over the team’s 2026 line-up.

“It scares me, but it’s also incredibly exciting!” Hadjar said of the prospect of being partnered with Verstappen to French broadcaster Canal+.

“Seeing myself team up with Max? Of course! And what a line-up!”

How new engine rules could create gaps

As part of our wide-ranging chat with FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis, he explained how the 2026 power units – all currently in development by the respective manufacturers – could have differences between them.

The switch to a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power will be a new challenge for all existing power unit manufacturers, as well as Audi next season and Cadillac in time for 2028.

“There’s certainly a possibility that, in the early times, they may not get it fully right from the word go, and that they may run in a sub-optimal manner initially,” Tombazis said.

“But to change the way you deploy the energy is a relatively straightforward process.”

Norris: ‘I can still win title without Piastri DNF’

Lando Norris remains confident he does not need help from outside influences to win a maiden World Championship, with Oscar Piastri 31 points ahead.

A mechanical retirement befell the McLaren driver at Zandvoort, which helped his teammate open up a larger lead initially.

With eight races still to go, however, he is not worrying just yet.

Red Bull ‘rebirth’? Not just yet

Red Bull took its first victory under the Laurent Mekies-led banner at Monza, leading some to question if the team had been reborn to an extent after Christian Horner’s departure.

After this one win, however, it’s probably too early to say.

Our own Thomas Maher took a closer look.

Gasly makes admission over Alpine deal

Having committed his future to Alpine until the end of the 2028 season, Pierre Gasly admits to having shopped around other teams before agreeing to his new deal, as is standard in Formula 1.

When looking to the future, however, he hopes to see the team put all the components together for a fast car.

“I think we’ve got all the ingredients in the team to actually deliver a competitive car from next year’s on,” he said to PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher, “but people have got to believe in it.

“Same as when you drive. If you have the belief you’re going to make it, you always get those last couple of hundredths and extra performance out of it.”