Isack Hadjar eyes short Red Bull run in 2025 — even as 2026 reset makes it a “good idea” with limited payoff
Isack Hadjar has had the kind of rookie year that forces its way onto agendas up and down the pit lane, culminating in a breakthrough podium at Zandvoort. Now, with Austin’s heat still rising off the blacktop, the Racing Bulls driver says he’d be open to a late-season cameo at Red Bull Racing if the opportunity appears — but he’s realistic about how much it would actually help with 2026 looming.
“Yeah, I’d take it,” he said when asked about stepping into the senior team for the final races. “It would help. But next year’s a completely new car, so in a way it’s pointless too.”
That’s the Hadjar pitch in a sentence: curiosity and ambition on one side, a pragmatic nod to a rules reset on the other. With F1’s next-generation package arriving in 2026, any late-2025 mileage in the RB21 may offer more value in faces and workflows than in technical learning. He knows it. So does the paddock.
The broader context isn’t exactly subtle. Yuki Tsunoda — promoted to Red Bull after two races this season — has endured a sticky run, with points in only four of 16 outings since the switch. Honda, Tsunoda’s longtime backer, departs Red Bull at the end of 2025, and with that tie coming to a close, his seat has felt increasingly precarious.
Complicating any musical chairs: a termination cost. As has been widely reported in the paddock, Red Bull would face a significant financial penalty to move Tsunoda aside before the season ends, making a swap for Hadjar more fantasy than plan for now.
Hadjar didn’t shy from the idea’s upside, mind. “It definitely helps — getting to know the team,” he said with a grin, before calling it “a good idea.” And there’s no hidden agenda about where he wants to be in 2026. “Since I joined the program, the target’s always been to be a Red Bull driver.”
He may not have long to wait for clarity. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has indicated the manufacturer will lock in its 2026 roster after next weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. Hadjar, for his part, shrugged off the timeline. “It doesn’t change anything for me. In the car, I’m just focused on doing the best I can.”
The domino that follows Red Bull’s decision could be Tsunoda’s next move. He’s been linked to an Aston Martin reserve role for 2026, aligning with Honda’s technical partnership there. Aston, for now, is playing it straight. “Aston Martin Aramco have Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll contracted as race drivers until the end of 2026,” the team said, adding that its wider driving squad will be announced in due course. Current reserve Felipe Drugovich is set to return to full-time racing in Formula E later this year, opening up space on the roster.
None of this makes the immediate scenario any less awkward. Red Bull has a prospective promotion case in a 20-year-old on the rise, a contractual knot with a driver caught in the crosshairs of shifting manufacturer alliances, and a regulation change that blunts the on-track value of any late-season experiment. The politics are as noisy as the cars.
Still, Hadjar’s stance felt telling. There’s an eagerness to step into the big seat if offered — as you’d expect — but there’s also a calm acknowledgement that the important part starts in March ’26, not November ’25. Until then? He’ll keep stacking points with Racing Bulls, keep knocking on the door, and wait for the call that most in the paddock already expect to arrive.
