Red Bull Racing have officially announced Isack Hadjar’s promotion from Racing Bulls to the senior team for the 2026 F1 season. He is set to partner the four-time world champion, Max Verstappen.
This move has come at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda, who has failed to make a lasting impression since his promotion earlier in the year.
The perpetual thorn in Red Bull’s side
Following the departure of Sergio Pérez at the end of the 2024 season, Red Bull embarked on their 2025 F1 campaign with Verstappen and Liam Lawson comprising their driver line-up. Meanwhile, rookie Isack Hadjar joined the Racing Bulls roster alongside Tsunoda.
Just two races in, Red Bull, however, opted to demote Lawson to the sister team, and the Japanese driver received his much-awaited call-up to the championship-winning squad ahead of his home Grand Prix.
Unfortunately, Tsunoda has been unable to meet Red Bull’s expectations, having finished inside the top ten on only ten occasions, including three Sprint races. In fact, he secured his best Grand Prix result of P6 at the Azerbaijan GP back in September.
The 25-year-old scored 30 of his 33 total points alongside Verstappen, having struggled to even remotely challenge the Dutchman in the tricky RB21. He currently sits in a lowly fifteenth place in the Drivers’ standings.
With the 2025 season reaching its conclusion in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Tsunoda will bid farewell to an active F1 career for now and become Red Bull’s test and reserve driver next year.
As anticipated, Tsunoda’s chronic underperformance has compelled the Milton Keynes outfit to look for a suitable replacement once again before new technical regulations come into effect in 2026.
Hadjar’s promotion is clearly part of a wider strategy of the Red Bull group to cultivate fresh prospects for the senior team, as rising star Arvid Lindblad inherits the French-Algerian driver’s seat at Racing Bulls for the upcoming season.
Hadjar shining bright in his debut F1 season
Although he finished runner-up to Gabriel Bortoleto in Formula 2 last year, Isack Hadjar’s stock witnessed a steady rise as the 2025 F1 season progressed.
After spinning into the barriers on the formation lap and failing to start the race in Melbourne, the 21-year-old swiftly adapted to life at the pinnacle of motorsport. He secured five points finishes in the first 12 rounds of the season, with standout performances in Monaco and Spain.
Hadjar qualified fourth for the Dutch GP, where he kept frontrunners like Charles Leclerc and George Russell at bay for the entirety of the race. Following Lando Norris’s retirement, he became the youngest French and the first Arab driver to score a podium in F1 history.
The Paris native has scored points thrice in the final third of the season so far, with the highlights including a P5 in qualifying for the São Paulo GP and a P6 finish in Las Vegas.
With regard to how his performance measures up to Lawson’s at Racing Bulls, Hadjar leads the qualifying battle 15-6. He also holds a head-to-head advantage of 12-8 when it comes to Grand Prix results.
In 22 Grand Prix starts this season, the French-Algerian driver has collected 51 points, leaving him tenth in the standings behind Williams’s Carlos Sainz. He has also registered just two Q1 exits in his rookie campaign thus far, highlighting his superior one-lap pace.
Firmly in the running for rookie of the year, Red Bull Racing is rightfully rewarding Hadjar with a promotion for the stellar performances across his debut F1 season.
Can Hadjar break the pattern?
Despite such a promising beginning, Isack Hadjar’s next F1 chapter with Red Bull, however, might encounter a bumpy road ahead.
Since 2019, five different drivers have strapped themselves to the much-maligned second seat alongside Verstappen. Much to the team’s chagrin, all of them, bar the Dutchman, have struggled to tame the Red Bull single-seaters.
Now that they no longer boast a dominant car, the Milton Keynes outfit has emerged third in the pecking order in back-to-back seasons.
For a young driver like Hadjar, this promotion from Racing Bulls to Red Bull in only his second season undoubtedly involves both risks and rewards. As the team gears up for 2026 with a new powertrain, in collaboration with Ford, the impending change in regulations can offer him a clean slate.
The F1 community is certainly waiting with bated breath to discover if Hadjar rises to the occasion and secures his long-term future with Red Bull or adds his name to the long list of drivers who crumbled as soon as they walked into Verstappen’s hazardous backyard.
Laurent Mekies, CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said:
“Yuki has raced in Red Bull colours for seven years now and I have had the pleasure of working with him at both Red Bull teams.
“Through his five seasons so far in Formula One, Yuki has matured into a complete racer, good over a single lap on Saturday and capable of exceptional starts and excellent race craft on Sunday.
“Everyone in the sport would agree it is impossible not to like Yuki, his personality is infectious, and he has become a very special part of the Red Bull family. On behalf of everyone at Red Bull, I thank him for what he has contributed so far and we know he will provide invaluable support to the 2026 projects moving forwards.
“As for Isack, in his first F1 season, he has displayed great maturity and proved to be a quick learner. Most importantly, he has demonstrated the raw speed that is the number one requirement in this sport. We believe Isack can thrive alongside Max and produce the magic on track!
“2026 will be a huge challenge for the Team and for Red Bull Ford Powertrains, these are exciting times, and I am looking forward to seeing what we can do together.”
A delighted Isack Hadjar added:
“I’m so grateful to Oracle Red Bull Racing for giving me the opportunity and trust to race at the highest level of Formula One. After all the hard work I have put in since joining the Junior Team, it’s such a great reward. I’ve had many ups and downs throughout my career, and they kept believing and pushing me.
“This year with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls has been absolutely amazing, I’ve learnt a lot and secured a maiden podium. I feel I’m much better as a racing driver and a person, due to the Team‘s support and preparation.
“I feel ready to go to Oracle Red Bull Racing and I am happy and proud they feel the same. It’s an awesome move, to work with the best and learn from Max is something I can’t wait for. “
