‘If it wasn’t allowed, it would be illegal’: Mekies dismisses team-orders chatter as Hadjar seals first F1 podium
Isack Hadjar’s first trip to a Formula 1 podium didn’t arrive with a quirk of weather or a lottery on strategy. It came at Zandvoort, in the dry, with the RB driver shadowing Max Verstappen for most of the Dutch Grand Prix and refusing to blink under pressure from Ferrari and Mercedes.
And for anyone wondering whether the junior Red Bull outfit kept its rookie on a short leash behind the company’s headline act, RB team principal Laurent Mekies was having none of it.
“Yes, he was allowed,” Mekies said when asked if Hadjar could race Verstappen for position. “If it was not allowed, it would be illegal.”
The stage was set at lights out. McLaren locked out the front row with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, while Verstappen slotted his Red Bull into third and Hadjar’s RB (Racing Bulls) lined up fourth after a statement Saturday that put the 20-year-old on the second row on merit. George Russell’s Mercedes lurked in fifth with the Ferraris in tow.
From there, the race became a concentration test. Verstappen quickly wedged Norris between himself and Hadjar, but as the afternoon settled, the RB held off Charles Leclerc, then rebuffed Russell. When the order reshuffled and Hadjar found himself staring at the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull after Norris moved past the Dutchman, the rookie didn’t launch a harum-scarum dive — but neither could Leclerc or Mercedes launch one on him. Three Safety Car restarts, same story: Hadjar tucked up behind Verstappen, then went about the business of keeping a very expensive queue behind him.
When Norris’ engine let go, Hadjar inherited third and never looked like handing it back. He crossed the line just a couple of seconds behind Verstappen, banking a maiden podium that felt like a marker for what’s coming rather than a bolt from the blue.
“For Isack, it was an extraordinary race. It was coming,” Mekies said. “He doesn’t score a podium on a day with crazy rain and lottery calls. He put the car P4 on merit in qualifying, and he stayed a couple of seconds from Max all race long. Hats off to him, to the Racing Bulls. It didn’t come by luck, but by a lot of hard work from these guys.”
Inevitably, the organizational chart became part of the conversation. Red Bull owns two teams. Verstappen is the flagship. Hadjar is the rookie. The optics of an intra-company fight for P2 at Zandvoort would’ve sent social media into a tailspin. Mekies’ answer was direct: there are no cross-team orders, and there cannot be.
“If it was not allowed, it would be illegal,” he repeated. “And I remind you that last race we finished behind the Racing Bulls in Budapest.” The point being: the group leaves them to race, results fall where they may.
Hadjar, for his part, did the hard bits that don’t make the highlight reels. He managed the tire phases without panic, nailed the restarts, and kept the car planted when the train behind inevitably tried to rattle him. There was no rush of blood, no rushed lunge at Verstappen that risked ruining both their days. Just a clean, composed drive that said more about his ceiling than any daring move ever could.
There’ll be debates about whether he should’ve had a go at the Red Bull in front. That’s the privilege of a first podium: the bar moves immediately. But the reality on Sunday was simple — the McLaren of Piastri had the legs on everyone, Verstappen was the best of the rest, and Hadjar was the one who matched that pace most convincingly while keeping very good company off his gearbox.
The bigger picture? RB’s driver programme is doing exactly what it says on the tin. It’s putting a young driver in meaningful positions on merit, on dry, high-pressure Sundays, and he’s delivering. And for the senior team, there’s nothing to fear from that. If anything, it’s validation.
The paddock will move on quickly — it always does — but this one will stick around in the memory for a while. A first podium for Isack Hadjar, earned the hard way, with the big names in the mirrors and no corporate handcuffs on the wheel. Exactly how it should be.
