Isack Hadjar must listen to Daniel Ricciardo’s perfect advice for being Max Verstappen’s teammate

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Isack Hadjar has been named as the next driver to try to live up to the so far impossible standards of being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing teammate.

Liam Lawson lasted just two races at the beginning of 2025, and Yuki Tsunoda couldn’t do enough throughout the rest of the campaign to convince Red Bull that he deserved another season on the grid.

That’s not to say that Isack Hadjar doesn’t deserve a promotion after a brilliant rookie campaign with Racing Bulls.

The 21-year-old has already secured his first podium and is statistically the best qualifier on the grid outside of the top four teams.

However, the likes of Tsunoda, Lawson, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly have all suffered at the hands of Verstappen during their time on the grid.

The driver who statistically coped the best alongside the four-time world champion? Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo is the only driver in Formula 1 to ever beat Verstappen over an entire F1 season, and his previous advice on how to live with the Dutchman has to be taken on board by Hadjar.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know

Daniel Ricciardo says Max Verstappen’s teammates have to be on their game ‘all the time’

Ricciardo was speaking in 2018 ahead of leaving Red Bull for Renault, via Formula 1’s official website, and he said: “I think the competitive rivalry, it’s probably the first team mate… well, I don’t want to say that because I don’t want to disrespect anyone else, obviously Seb [Vettel] was class, but one of the first team mates [where] you can’t afford to have a bad day.

“That competition – I feel we’re so often closely matched that if you have a bad day, you’re getting beat, where in the past, you could get away with it a few times and still end up in front.

“So just having to be on your game all the time – I think that’s brought out the best in us.

“To be honest, considering how competitive we are, we actually get on surprisingly well.

“Normally, I feel people like us would clash a lot, but I don’t know, we’ve always got on pretty well and only crashed twice, so that’s not too bad in three years.”

Hadjar is unlikely to get as close to Verstappen as Ricciardo did personally, but there’s no reason why he can’t elevate himself beyond the level that the Australian reached when the pair were teammates.

READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Liam Lawson offers his perspective on being Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 teammate

Hadjar and Lawson have formed a decent partnership at Racing Bulls since the New Zealander’s demotion at the start of the campaign.

Whether he’s reached out for advice on how to deal with Verstappen isn’t yet known, but speaking to Pitstop before the start of 2025, Lawson explained: “For me as a driver, obviously, I know going in it’s going to be very hard.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure there, it’s going to be very tough, and obviously, he’s going to be very tough to match in terms of pace.

“But in terms of development for me, there’s nobody better to learn from than him.”

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Hadjar will hope he’s given more time to learn from Verstappen than Lawson was before his exit.

There’s also a chance that they’ll be on a more level playing field next year, ahead of F1’s regulations changing.

However, while Verstappen has been impressed with the work going on behind the scenes at Red Bull heading into 2026, it’s also likely that he’s having a large say in the direction of the car’s development.

Hadjar won’t have had the same luxury of working with Red Bull’s next car in the simulator yet or watching how it progresses in the factory, he might not be as hampered as Tsunoda, Lawson and his other teammates when it comes to how it drives once it’s on track.