Lewis Hamilton gave Red Bull credit for the work of their junior team and feeder series exploits when asked about the potential of Isack Hadjar, who has been promoted into Liam Lawson’s test and reserve role for 2025.
Hadjar graduated into Formula Two last year after missing out on the Formula Three title at the season finale in Monza, and after a testing rookie year, he has come on leaps and bounds.
With two rounds remaining of the 2024 campaign, he is just 4.5 points behind championship leader and Sauber F1 target Gabriel Bortoleto at the top of the F2 standings, and he has already received a new role within the Red Bull set-up for 2025.
Discussing Hadjar’s potential, Hamilton said: “He’s been doing a mega, mega job so I’m really happy to see that Red Bull continues to have that program where they are bringing up talented individuals through… we need to see more of it.
“We’re seeing a lot of these youngsters coming through now, super talented and its all about opportunity. It just kinda also makes me feel old, I don’t feel old I feel still really young. It’s cool, but I’m looking forward to seeing his progress – my guidance… I always say ‘Don’t rush, continue to be you, don’t change for no-one and show up as you are’…”
Hadjar’s pathway into F1 is clear, and he still has a shot at securing a spot on the 2025 grid if Red Bull opt to drop Sergio Perez from their roster come the end of the year.
This would see one of Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda – both Red Bull academy graduates – step up from VCARB to replace him, carving the path for Hadjar to make his F1 debut. Unfortunately for the young Frenchman, Perez intends to fight tooth and nail to remain on the grid.
“I had an opportunity, two opportunities, to change teams,” he told GQ ahead of the United States Grand Prix. “When I looked at it, I thought, I really love the challenge I have at Red Bull. It’s a massive challenge being Max’s teammate.
“It’s a challenge that basically trains you for all of it. So I said, I want to spend my last part of my career at the top, at the very top, where the pressure, it’s full-on. At the end of the day, when you go through a difficult period, there is a lot of talk. But ultimately, there is 90 per cent of the grid who would have loved to have my career.
“When you are a driver, you only think about the next race—the next challenge, the next category, the next contract. It’s always about next, next, next. Sometimes it’s good to step back out of it and remember how far you’ve gone. It’s a very brutal sport.”
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