Isack Hadjar reveals approach to avoid being ‘stomped over’ by Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Isack Hadjar has said he’s already accepted being beaten by Max Verstappen when they first line up as Red Bull teammates.

The French driver will become Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull Racing in F1 2026, replacing the demoted Yuki Tsunoda.

Isack Hadjar: I couldn’t be more ready

Hadjar steps into the seat that has become known as a poisoned chalice in recent years, with drivers such as Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and now Tsunoda all struggling to maintain speed and consistency alongside Verstappen.

While the Dutch driver has romped to several titles in a row, he hasn’t always been able to rely on support from the second driver, with only Perez managing to provide ammunition over a season before his own struggles developed.

This year, Tsunoda has scored just 30 points in the Red Bull RB21, while Verstappen has scored 396 with only two extra races over the Japanese driver in the same car.

It’s led Red Bull to make the call for change next year, dropping Tsunoda back to reserve in favour of Hadjar.

The French driver, a rookie this season, has emerged as a rising star with regular points finishes and even a maiden podium during his first year with Racing Bulls, sister team to Red Bull.

“I can’t be more ready for this. It’s perfect,” Hadjar said of his promotion when speaking to select media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It’s all a very far cry from where he was a year ago, when Hadjar wasn’t assured of a rise into F1 in the first place after being locked in an F2 title battle with Gabriel Bortoleto, a battle the Brazilian driver won.

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Hadjar’s first race was one to forget, too. Crashing out on the formation lap in Australia, he drew some mild criticism from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko after an emotional response to his faux pas, before bouncing back with an impressive season of regular points and consistent speed.

“Not only the last year, but just the journey in general, was very long, very difficult,” he said of his first year in F1.

“I’ve always had this target, being in the main team and being teammates with the best driver in the world, but, at the same time, I have moments where it feels surreal and some moments where it feels very normal, because it’s the only thing I do, right?

“I drive. But it’s an awesome moment; not just for me, but also for my parents. It’s great.”

Hadjar has become well-known for a logical and self-effacing approach to his racing and, despite the enormity of his securing a promotion into a front-running team, said he’s not viewing the achievement as that.

“Unfortunately, signing a contract is not what I consider an achievement,” he said.

“An achievement would be living up to the expectations at Red Bull, doing the job. This would be an achievement.”

Isack Hadjar: I accept being slow against Max Verstappen

What Hadjar will be wary of is suffering the same fate his predecessors have faced, crumbling against the relentless speed of Verstappen as a generational talent in Formula 1.

Hadjar explained that he’s going into the lion’s den with a subdued mentality. While excited about what may come to pass, he said that he has no intent of going in and attempting to match and beat Verstappen from the get-go and is, instead, accepting that he will be decidedly second-best to his illustrious teammate.

“If anything, the goal is to accept that I’m going to be slower the first month,” he said, when asked about whether he believes he can be up near Max right from the start.

“I think that if you go into that mindset, you accept already it’s going to be very tough, looking at the data and seeing things you can’t achieve yet, it’s going to be very frustrating.

“But, if you know, then you’re more prepared. [Taking this approach has] never happened to me before in my life.”

Hadjar believes that his predecessors may have taken a different mentality, going in gung-ho with the intent of going up against Verstappen on equal terms.

“I think they think the opposite,” he said.

“Everyone thinks they’re special. Coming in like ‘He’s a human, I’m gonna beat him’.

“And then you get stomped over. And then the snowball effect starts.

“Whereas, if you come in, you’re like ‘I’m nowhere near’…

“We’re talking about the best driver on the grid. So the chance that I’m slow at the start of the year is very high.

“So I might as well accept it now and just work towards getting there.

“Of course, I’m hoping to be as fast as him. I’m hoping, but realistically, it’s very little chance.”

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