Hadjar still aims for Verstappen teammate role despite seeing others struggle

Young Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar is increasingly motivated to become Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull – despite witnessing the struggles of previous drivers.

Following recent driver changes that saw Liam Lawson return to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda promoted to the main team, Hadjar has shown consistent performance improvement. The French driver secured his first points with eighth place in the Japanese GP, despite crashing out in his debut at the Australian GP.

“Honestly, the fact that it seems really hard to be next to Max makes me want to try even more – to find out why and what’s going on. That remains the main target,” Hadjar stated.

Hadjar now stands as the highest-scoring driver below Verstappen within the Red Bull structure after three races and one sprint this season. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson shared his perspective on the differences between the Racing Bulls and Red Bull cars.

“The Racing Bulls car has a bigger operating window and is easier to drive. But that doesn’t mean the Red Bull is undriveable – it maybe just takes more time to get comfortable,” Lawson explained.