"To have Max as a team mate, I would learn so much," says Isack Hadjar as he insists he is ready for second Red Bull seat.

One of the most astonishing facts this year is that Red Bull is currently fourth in the standings on 162 points... and that Max Verstappen has scored 155 of them.

Ignoring the plights of the various drivers that came before, and the shoddy manner in which Liam Lawson was treated, it is clear that, for whatever reason, Yuki Tsunoda is not faring any better.

Consequently, while Helmut Marko has said that the Japanese is safe for the remainder of the season, there is increasing speculation that, in his rookie season, Isack Hadjar may be handed the poisoned chalice that is the second seat at Red Bull.

"No..." he replies when asked if he is ready for the move on the Beyond The Grid podcast, "but I'll take it. I'm a fighter, after all.

"What drives me is fighting against the best in the world," he added. "To have Max as a team mate, I would learn so much.

"I think he's a very chill guy," he continued. "He gets on with everyone as long as things are fine on track. He's a cool guy.

"The natural trajectory as a Red Bull Junior driver is to end up at Red Bull, right?" said the French-Algerian, causing one to reflect on those whose careers faltered on making the move, even in those times long, long before the Dutchman.

For now however, Hadjar insists is happy to continue where he is.

"I'm so happy with my team. I'm just learning so much every weekend," he said. "I just want to keep doing that. Just enjoy it. Enjoy the fights with the other guys, and don't disappoint myself."

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1. Posted by Spindoctor, 23/06/2025 9:00

"I think he's a very chill guy," he continued. "He gets on with everyone as long *as things are fine on track. He's a cool guy.*

A statement which deliberately or otherwise seems to sum it all up. The entire Red Bull F1 operation seems to built around & for VMax. This hasn't really happened since Michael Schumacher's years at Ferrari, and that was, as they say, in another country and besides.... Notwithstanding Ferrari's focus om MS, the cars he developed were still pretty driveable by others, this doesn't seem to be the case with those being knocked-out by Red Bull Racing at present.

The other problem that VMax's co-drivers face is his temperament (as noted above) & the constant glowering presence of both Verstappen Snr & Marko. The former constantly pushing to advantage his kid, the latter dispensing an on-going critique of the 2nd drivers abilities....The Team itself is staring to look unstable like a solar system with two Suns: Marko & Horner, where in adversity they seem to be pulling apart. I await the ensuinmg super Nova!"

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2. Posted by BillH, 20/06/2025 20:45

""The natural trajectory as a Red Bull Junior driver is to end up at Red Bull, right?"

Yes, and no.

Getting there is one thing, staying is something completely different.

As for Lawson, he needs to stop focusing on the image of being an F1 driver and focus 100% on driving better to beat his team mate and yes, he wasn't treated so well in regard to the amount of time to get sorted in that car.
If Red Bull knew in testing that things were not right they should have put Tsunoda into the Red Bull straight away.
It will never be known if Lawson would or could have got to grips with that car as he didn't get many sessions under his belt.
As for Tsunoda, he's no slouch either and probably driving better than he ever has which shows how tough that second seat role is.
Hadjar is doing an excellent job and what I like is that he's admitting that he isn't ready, which shows humility.
Hopefully he gets a chance to do so perhaps next year.
Then again, who knows what Red Bull could be thinking in regards to car development in 2026?"

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3. Posted by equator180, 19/06/2025 21:09

""the shoddy manner in which Liam Lawson was treated," really, should he get more than the rest, he didn't have the skills to go any furthur, Maybe Yuki neither but he was better than Lawson when they were team mates and for the short time Yuki was with Hadjar he was better than him. Both Yuki and Hadjar are going through a learning curve. I think most thought Yuki would do better than Lawson, and in time, perhaps he will be consistently in the points. It should be noted as well Hadjar is doing better than Lawson; perhaps Lawson is being rated higher than his ability."

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4. Posted by Chester, 19/06/2025 16:29

"Hadjar is clearly better than Lawson. I’d let both Yuki and Isaac show further proof that they should be swapped. "

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5. Posted by kenji, 19/06/2025 14:54

"For a while I was of the opinion that Tsunoda was going to make it,,,that now seems to be questionable. I'm all for letting Hadjar have a crack at it. If he fails then so be it....the driver machine keeps going year on year."

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6. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 19/06/2025 14:25

"Rookie of the season, so far, for me. Maybe he’s actually got what it takes to get closer to MV’s pace in that car? "

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7. Posted by rambler, 19/06/2025 13:50

"If you want a long career in F1 stay away from Verstappen Racing. Max has had 13 team mates since 2014. The number two driver is only there to do the drudge work like testing, If you should get within 0.3S of Max they will slow your engine, give you an experimental setup, to ensure you are 0.5 sec slower than Max. "

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8. Posted by Max Noble, 19/06/2025 12:27

"Ah! Be so careful what you wish for! Seriously… has he been watching what happened to the drivers before him…? Do it, and let’s witness another career done."

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Hadjar ready for promotion to the big team

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