Isack Hadjar, 2026 could be a challenging year for him

We’ve seen some excellent rookies in this F1 2025 season — and there have been quite a few. Kimi Antonelli, Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, Lawson, and Oliver Bearman. Although the latter can’t be considered a true rookie, as he replaced Carlos Sainz with Ferrari at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. But all the others took part in a Grand Prix for the first time only this year.

Among these five, we have to be honest: all of them, to varying degrees, deserve to be promoted to the next level — which in this case means another season in F1. However, the one who could actually get a major promotion in 2026 is Isack Hadjar. According to the reputable German source Auto und Motor Sport, Red Bull is reportedly considering him as Max Verstappen’s teammate. His solid results in recent races have certainly caught the eye of Helmut Marko. Many believe he has already picked Hadjar as Tsunoda’s successor.

Could Isack Hadjar refuse the promotion to Red Bull?

Currently, Isack Hadjar is under contract with Racing Bulls until the end of the 2025 season. However, as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, he’s considered a potential candidate for a future move to the main team, Red Bull Racing beside Max Verstappen. The driver had previously expressed a positive view of a potential promotion, confident in his abilities. Still, it’s well known that Red Bull Racing is not the most relaxed environment, with intense pressure on drivers who don’t deliver results in the team’s second car. Apparently only Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel had in the first years had the mental strenght to survive

Even though joining F1 Red Bull Racing is a massive opportunity, Hadjar might carefully consider the risks. The team’s history shows that Red Bull management is highly demanding and impatient: drivers like Gasly, Albon, and Pérez faced intense scrutiny, with some demoted or replaced after a short time. The only one who managed to survive despite inconsistent results was Sergio Pérez, who eventually retired last year and was signed by Cadillac for the 2026 season.

Those 38 Crucial Points

Isack Hadjar currently sits P9 in the drivers’ standings with 38 points, right behind fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli, who races for Mercedes. His teammate Liam Lawson is further back in P15 with 20 points, helping the team secure a respectable P7 in the constructors’ championship. Considering that the team is fielding two rookies making their Formula 1 debut this year, the Italo-Austrian outfit deserves full credit for the smart choices it made.