Isack Hadjar wants the noise to stop. The Red Bull rumor mill has been rattling away for weeks now, and while the 20-year-old’s name being tied to a promotion is flattering, he’d rather have the picture sorted once the helmets come off for the final time this year.
“It’s more annoying than anything,” he admitted when asked about the constant speculation. “I’d like to know at the end of the year. You have five races to keep pushing.”
Hadjar’s stance is refreshingly blunt: he’s on the Formula 1 grid next season, full stop. Where he’ll be is the only open item — either staying put with the Red Bull-owned Racing Bulls or stepping into the senior team’s car. The broader ingredients are familiar: a rookie who’s adapted quickly, a sister team that’s given him proper reps, and a top team that never stops looking for lap time — or leverage.
There’s also the other half of the equation. Yuki Tsunoda’s recent uptick has thrown another curve into Red Bull’s 2026 talk, and yet the second-seat situation remains exactly as Red Bull likes it: fluid until it isn’t. Internally, there’s a clear playbook. Pace over one lap. Repeatability over long runs. How you learn. How you manage the chaos. Hadjar’s consistently ticked those boxes in the raw telemetry even when the final result hasn’t sparkled.
“I kind of think I’ve done a good job so far this year,” he said, not boasting so much as taking stock. “Honestly, even the results, I think they don’t reflect the speed I’ve had. I’m not talking about qualifying and the race — I’m talking about every free practice session, every track. I’ve been on it.”
That last bit is the kind of thing the race team notices. Engineers remember the Fridays where a rookie doesn’t get lost, the Saturdays where the delta drops as the grip comes up, the Sundays where he keeps his head when the midfield goes elbows-out. Hadjar hasn’t sounded wide-eyed for months. He sounds like someone who knows he’s in the right paddock.
“Twelve months ago I was a bit unsure,” he added. “This year I’m in a better position. I know I’m in Formula 1 next year… I’m a lot less panicked.”
The backdrop is classic Red Bull: a title fight absorbing the headlines at the front and a long-term seat map being redrawn in the background. The team’s standards haven’t softened with time. If anything, they’ve sharpened — and so has Hadjar. His own bar is high enough that he joked he’d “definitely know before it’s announced. Otherwise, there’s a problem.”
Strip away the chatter and you’re left with a straightforward endgame. Five races. Keep the execution clean. Keep the learning curve steep. Red Bull has never needed help making hard calls — but they do prefer the decision to make itself.
Hadjar, for his part, would like the verdict to wait until he’s had the chance to write the final footnote of his rookie campaign.
“In an ideal world, I’d like everyone to wait for the end of the year before asking me questions,” he said with a grin. “If I’m fine with my season, then they should be as well.”
The grid tends to sort itself out. It just takes a little longer when there’s a charging bull in the room.
