The Max Verstappen characteristic Isack Hadjar is trying to master at Red Bull

Isack Hadjar believes Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen is able to operate at a “different level” to him despite the French driver meeting his own performance expectations so far in 2026.

Hadjar was promoted to Red Bull from Racing Bulls this year and has had a solid, if unspectacular, start to life with a front-running team.

Isack Hadjar says Max Verstappen’s race management is ‘on a different level’

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google for news you can trust

Hadjar is 41 points behind his four-time F1 world champion teammate Max Verstappen, having only missed out on a points finish in three grands prix so far this year.

Of his two retirements, one was down to mechanical issues while running in the points (Australia), while the other was due to a mistake that resulted in him hitting the barriers in Miami.

Hadjar is yet to finish on the podium in 2026, with the French driver losing third after a successful appeal by Pierre Gasly and Alpine, while Verstappen has managed it on four separate occasions.

But there is a different level of expectation between the two drivers: Verstappen is the eminent driver of his generation and, with his proven track record, is held to a higher standard than his teammates have been in recent years.

Indeed, those teammates have largely struggled relative to Verstappen, with even experienced hands like Sergio Perez falling away from the Dutch driver’s relentless consistency and ability to extract the maximum from the car on any given weekend.

With another experienced driver, Yuki Tsunoda, failing to make any sort of impression alongside Verstappen in 2025, as the Japanese driver couldn’t provide any assistance to the four-time F1 world champion’s quest for a fifth title, Red Bull plumped for a fresh start with Hadjar for the second seat.

Known for his self-critical attitude and ability to admit to mistakes, Hadjar explained in the pre-season that his approach to being Verstappen’s teammate would be to come in with patience, accept the fact the Dutch driver would be quicker and superior to him, and simply try to find a baseline of confidence from which to grow.

Halfway through the season, Hadjar would appear to have accomplished this task: while he hasn’t been able to match the highs of his illustrious teammate, he has provided umpteen points finishes and is ranked eighth in the drivers’ championship – with four front-running teams in F1, the Frenchman is in the range of where his car’s performance should place him.

With 68 points, he is 24 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after taking sixth place in Hungary, his fourth such result in the last five grands prix.

Speaking after the race, Hadjar admitted that he had some doubts about his own abilities to compare favourably against Verstappen when he came into the season, but has accomplished what he’d hoped by the time of the summer break.

“Obviously, you come in, and you’re aware of where you landed, so I definitely had a few doubts because it’s Max. It’s undeniable, he’s great,” Hadjar told media including PlanetF1.com.

“There was a bit of doubt and pressure, but so far it’s been going pretty much like I wanted. It was definitely on my mind.”

With his immediate predecessors having struggled to keep their heads in the face of Verstappen’s performance level, Hadjar said there haven’t been any moments of peak performance in which he has surprised himself with his own ability, but is trying to learn from what he can see of the Dutch driver’s abilities.

It’s particularly on race day that Verstappen is able to make strides ahead that, right now, Hadjar can’t quite match.

“I’ve just been driving at a high level, definitely better than last year,” he said, when asked where he feels he can still improve.

“That’s normal because it’s my second season, so I’m not very experienced, but I’m improving a bit. I would say Max has been very impressive on Sundays, all around. I think my one-lap pace has been pretty good, but how well he is managing the races is on a different level, so that’s what I’m focusing on working on.”

More on Red Bull in F1 2026

Red Bull refuses to celebrate major recovery as Laurent Mekies sets clear target

Helmut Marko delivers bleak Max Verstappen title verdict as Red Bull concerns grow

Reflecting on the season as a whole, he said his next target is to finish in the top three.

“It started a bit tricky. The first couple of rounds, I feel like I was doing the easy stuff really wrong and the tough things, like being quick, in the rhythm and not too far from Max, really well,” he said.

“Since the last couple of rounds, I think I’ve found some consistency, and in the team we’ve fixed a few issues that make our life easier. It’s a lot easier when the car is reliable.

“When it’s performing, it’s easy to achieve results; I’m not going to lie. It’s good, but at the same time I would love to have a race where I can actually fight for a real podium, and that’s the next target.”

Asked what he had meant by the “easy stuff” he’d felt he was misfiring on, Hadjar explained that he was referring to the starts, getting the car off the line, although it’s worth pointing out that he was far from alone in this regard – Verstappen, too, has had difficult race starts on occasion in 2026.

“That’s not an easy thing to fix, but I was more referring to deployment issues at times, understanding the boost features, spinning on lap one, which is not ideal. Just stuff like that ruining our weekends. That takes a bit of adjustment, and now I think we’re well settled in.”

This settled approach led Hadjar to put in what team boss Laurent Mekies praised as his best performance of the year so far at the Belgian Grand Prix, with the French driver recovering from 21st on the grid, following an engine penalty, to finish in sixth overall.

Following that, the Budapest weekend was not a particularly strong one for Red Bull in terms of car balance and feel, for either driver, but Hadjar said he’s largely feeling comfortable behind the wheel of the RB22.

“It’s a car I handle well. It’s not the easiest to drive, but it’s consistent,” he said.

“I’ve got the most out of it for a few rounds now, so I’m definitely happy. We’re still not where I want to be.

“There are still a few areas where we’re lacking competitiveness compared to Ferrari and Mercedes, so we still need to dig, but it’s definitely good progress.”

Following the Hungarian Grand Prix, Dutch media suggested that Hadjar’s seat at Red Bull has already been confirmed for 2027.

It’s understood this is somewhat premature, with no firm decision made on the identity of Verstappen’s teammate yet, assuming the Dutch driver stays in his seat, but team boss Laurent Mekies has offered a clear hint that Hadjar will retain his seat, based on his current form.

“The fact that Isack can compete at the front is very good news for us, and it’s also good news for Max,” he told De Telegraaf.

“We haven’t discussed the future yet, but everyone can see what a good job Hadjar is doing for us. So we’ll make the logical decision.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: ‘W**kers’ – Christian Horner reaction as untelevised Coulthard team radio comes to light