In a print media session ahead of the F1 Hungarian GP, Racing Bull Driver Isack Hadjar talked about his rookie F1 season, doubts, and how a strong support system helped him come back stronger after a difficult debut year in F2.
The 2025 F1 grid features a notable number of rookies compared to previous seasons, including Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls.
During the first half of the F1 2025 season, Hadjar demonstrated impressive speed, accumulating a solid total of 22 points.
At just 20 years of age, he is currently the second-highest-ranked rookie in the F1 Drivers’ Championship.
Positioned in P13, Hadjar is ahead of both his current teammate, Liam Lawson, and his former teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. It is fair to say that the young French-Algerian driver has made a strong start to his rookie F1 campaign.
Unsurprising performance levels and doubts
Asked if he was surprised by how well his debut Formula 1 season had played out so far, and how quickly he had been able to adapt, Hadjar responds:
“Not really, because I think there’s no hazards.
“If you make it to F1, then it’s not by luck. So obviously, you’re quite okay.“
However, Hadjar admits to having had doubts, particularly given the limited time he had spent in an F1 car before joining the grid.
“But at the same time, you always have doubts, and it’s normal. You always question yourself whether you’re good enough.
“And that’s what I thought, you know, I had doubts because I didn’t have a lot of mileage.”
“It’s a big step to F2. But in the end, now I’m fully used to its speed, and I’m not surprised.”
Hadjar, whose highest points finish came in the Monaco GP, where he finished in P6, replied “yeah, always,” when asked if he thought of ways to improve or finish higher up, even after a good result.
“At the same time, I need to cheer up a bit more when I have a good result for my team,” the Racing Bull driver added.
A strong support system helped after a difficult debut year in F2
Although Hadjar is currently experiencing a strong rookie season in F1, the same cannot be said about his F2 debut in 2023, where he had a nightmarish season with Hitech, which led him to doubt his F1 future. He finished a very lowly P14 in the standings.
The Racing Bull driver says that a strong support system, including Helmut Marko, and mental strength helped him recover from his difficult first season in F2.
“I think raw speed and talent has always been there, I didn’t learn how to drive faster in the last three seasons.
“I remember my year in Hitech in F2 has been an absolute nightmare, and at this moment I’m like, I’m never going to make it to F1, but thankfully I had very strong support from Helmut [Marko].
“He kept believing and gave me a second chance, which I took. As well as mental strength, obviously, because you need to not give up in those moments.
“You need strong people around and people that trust in you. And this is what I had.
“I had really good people around who believed in me, and that’s how I got back up, basically.”
