Laurent Mekies has shared his opinions on Isack Hadjar’s maiden F1 podium finish at the Dutch GP and his potential promotion from Racing Bulls to Red Bull in the near future.
Turning the heads of many with a fantastic lap in qualifying, Hadjar lined up in P4 on Sunday after securing an F1 career-best grid position.
Bolting on a set of medium compound tyres, the rookie managed to hold Charles Leclerc off in his opening stint at Zandvoort. Maintaining a steady pace thereafter behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, he made his debut appearance on the rostrum following the retirement of Lando Norris.
Hadjar has been a constant threat to the top ten this season, with six points finishes so far in the Grand Prix format. He is also the only driver on the current grid never to have been knocked out in Q1. With 37 points under his belt, the French-Algerian driver now sits tenth in the championship standings.
Mekies has high praise for Hadjar and the Racing Bulls team
Speaking in a print media session after the F1 race, Laurent Mekies was effusive about Isack Hadjar’s remarkable trip to the podium at the Dutch GP on Sunday.
Highlighting the high calibre of his performance since the beginning of the season, the Red Bull team principal also emphasised Hadjar’s one-lap prowess and competitive race pace at Zandvoort. Moreover, he commended the 20-year-old and the Racing Bulls squad for the effort they have put into delivering such strong results on the track.
“You know, for Isack [Hadjar], it’s an extraordinary race. I think you can see it by yourself. I think it was coming.
“It’s just a testimony of how good of a job, of how amazing of a job he has been doing since the beginning of the season.
“And you know, he doesn’t [just] score a podium on a day where you have a wet race and strange conditions. He put the car in P4 on merit in qualifying, and he stayed a couple of seconds from Max [Verstappen] all race long.
“So hats off to him, to Racing Bulls. And, again, it doesn’t come by luck. It comes after a lot of hard work from these guys.”
Hadjar had complete freedom to chase Verstappen at Zandvoort
With regard to whether Red Bull would’ve allowed Isack Hadjar to attack Verstappen for an even better finish at the F1 Dutch GP, Laurent Mekies left no room for doubt that there were no such restrictions in place.
Noting how the Dutchman had finished behind the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson in Hungary, the 48-year-old maintained that Hadjar and Verstappen were free to race each other.
“If he [Hadjar] was not allowed, it would be illegal. So, the answer is yes, he is allowed. And I remind you that last race, we finished behind the Racing Bulls in Budapest.”
When will Red Bull promote Hadjar?
The more Isack Hadjar continues to thrive, the more pressure Yuki Tsunoda finds himself under to deliver. The Japanese driver currently languishes in nineteenth place in the standings, having scored only 12 points since replacing Lawson at Red Bull earlier in the year.
Asked if it is a no-brainer that Hadjar will receive a promotion sooner rather than later, Laurent Mekies wasn’t exactly forthcoming after Sunday’s Dutch GP about how long Tsunoda might have until they make a decision regarding the second Red Bull seat.
Noting how all four drivers from both teams are under contract with Red Bull GmbH, the Frenchman proclaimed that they are unwilling to put themselves under further pressure internally and reach a hasty conclusion based on their performance in the past few race weekends.
While he didn’t rule out the possibility of Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull being confirmed before the 2025 F1 season comes to an end, Mekies declared that they are going to move forward with their current driver line-ups for the time being.
“As much as we like the emotion of the race-by-race feeling, we have a feeling in Budapest, we have another feeling here. The truth is, if you step back, look at it from a Red Bull perspective, it’s our drivers.
“We have them all under contract. It’s only us making the decisions, us meaning the Red Bull group. You know, why would you put yourself under pressure based on a result or another?
“So, hence, the simple truth is that we will take our time. There are nine races to go.
“I’m not telling you that we’ll wait until the last race, because also there is a dynamic by which you want to let your driver know. But we have time.”
