Hamilton backs Hadjar to handle Red Bull heat: “He can do the job”
Isack Hadjar’s next promotion comes with a warning label: the fastest car in Formula 1 and the most unforgiving seat in the paddock. And yet, Lewis Hamilton isn’t blinking.
The seven-time World Champion, now in red at Ferrari, says he’s not worried about Hadjar stepping up to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull next season. That’s despite the recent churn in the second RB20—Perez gone after 2024, Liam Lawson tried and dropped, Yuki Tsunoda drafted in and then eased back out again. It’s been a revolving door with a do-not-disturb sign.
“I’m not going to lie, it doesn’t worry me,” Hamilton told F1 TV. “He’s done an amazing job this year and he’s still very young. He’s still learning a lot about himself and his surroundings, but he’s been phenomenal. He’s got a great approach.”
Hamilton also didn’t dodge the wider point: life next to Verstappen is a pressure cooker. “We all know what happens when people go to Red Bull and the environment you’re thrown into. I’ve not been there, so I can’t speak from experience, but from the outside it looks quite difficult. Where he is, it seems like a really good environment.”
Hadjar’s case file this season with Racing Bulls is strong. The 21-year-old has combined grit with pace, rebounding from a formation-lap crash on debut in Australia—where Anthony Hamilton notably consoled him in parc fermé—into regular points and a standout first podium at Zandvoort. As it stands, he’s sitting P10 in the Drivers’ Championship and ahead of both Lawson and Tsunoda in the same machinery. Raw speed isn’t in question; temperament looks promising too.
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies didn’t hesitate when announcing the move. “In his first F1 season, he has displayed great maturity and proved to be a quick learner,” he said. “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.”
That’s the crux, isn’t it? Thriving alongside Max. Verstappen has made the number two seat look like a no‑win scenario for anyone not named Max. Since Perez’s departure last December, Lawson was given a brief run but never got out of the weeds on Saturdays; three straight Q1 exits made it a short audition. Tsunoda’s turn returned 30 points—solid on paper, but far from the firepower Red Bull expects in a title fight—and now the team is going all-in on a rookie with teeth.
Hadjar arrives as Verstappen’s fourth teammate in 18 months. It’s a bold call, but also a very Red Bull one: talent over tenure. If the kid’s quick and cool-headed, trust the stopwatch.
The reshuffle has winners and losers. Lawson stays on at Racing Bulls for 2026, joined by newcomer Arvid Lindblad, completing a youthful and very Red Bull-looking lineup. Tsunoda, meanwhile, has been moved to a test and reserve role for next year after five seasons inside the Red Bull system, including his 2025 spell at the senior team.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed, and p***ed off,” Tsunoda admitted when the news broke. He later posted that he isn’t done yet, promising to fight his way back. “Life’s full of setbacks, and this is mine. It’s not going to deter me from being the best F1 driver I can be.”
Hamilton, 40, echoed that sentiment and pushed for structural support. “Yuki is an amazing driver, but every driver that goes there has this general experience. That doesn’t mean those drivers aren’t great—it’s clearly something else. I just hope there are changes made that provide him with the right support.”
There’s a wider intrigue here. Hadjar has been forged this season in a team environment that suited him—clear feedback loops, realistic expectations, and room to learn. Red Bull offers none of that softness. It offers a rocket ship, a triple World Champion setting the reference, and a beam of light that never switches off. If he lands it, he’ll be a star. If he doesn’t, he won’t be the first.
But Hamilton’s read is telling. He’s watched Hadjar up close this year, traded wheel-to-wheel, and seen the rebound from that raw first weekend in Melbourne to a polished podium in orange smoke at Zandvoort. That arc matters. In a season where many have wilted under the Verstappen yardstick, Hadjar has looked like himself.
It’s easy to forget: Red Bull didn’t become Red Bull by playing safe. They bet early on Sebastian Vettel. They bet on Daniel Ricciardo. They took Verstappen at 17. Hadjar isn’t being thrown in cold—he’s being thrown into exactly the kind of challenge Red Bull has historically loved.
If he keeps the nerve that’s carried him through 2025, he won’t need anyone to worry on his behalf. Hamilton certainly doesn’t. And that’s as good an endorsement as any in this sport.
