F1 fans are already comparing Isack Hadjar to old Max Verstappen teammate after Barcelona crash

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Isack Hadjar brought out the red flags in the final hour of Tuesday’s Barcelona testing session. The Red Bull driver crashed at the final corner in wet conditions.

The Barcelona shakedown is being held behind closed doors, but photos taken from vantage points near the circuit show the Red Bull loaded onto a flatbed truck in the aftermath of the accident. While the impact was clearly significant, the driver was okay.

Hadjar had made an impressive start to his first test as a Red Bull driver when he topped the times on Monday. But the Frenchman, who replaced Max Verstappen for the afternoon session on Tuesday, has now suffered his first setback.

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The consolation is that it came towards the end of the day, so much of the programme was already complete. It may be that Red Bull don’t return to the track until Thursday anyway, giving them ample time to repair the car, assuming they have the necessary parts.

Isack Hadjar likened to Pierre Gasly after first Red Bull crash

Eyewitnesses say that Hadjar hit the turn 14 barriers backwards, breaking the rear wing (via The Race). It’s worth noting that this may have stemmed from a car failure.

Lewis Hamilton, one of the most experienced drivers in F1 history, had a trip into the gravel when the session resumed, highlighting the difficulty of the conditions.

Still, if it was a driver error, Hadjar will at the very least be frustrated with himself. The last Frenchman to race for Red Bull, Pierre Gasly, crashed twice during pre-season testing at Barcelona in 2019.

F1 fans on social media didn’t hesitate to make the comparison. One had a ‘Gasly 2019 flashback’, while another simply wrote ‘Gasly is back’.

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Hadjar was warned that ‘he’s going to get kicked out like Gasly’ if he makes too many mistakes.

“A Frenchman testing for Red Bull crashing in Barcelona? Welcome back 2019,” another comment read.

A fellow user pleaded: “Come on Isack, don’t go a Gasly.”

Gasly lost his seat after just 12 out of 21 races, with Alex Albon replacing him from the summer break onwards.

“At least this means Hadjar will end up second in Brazil later this year!!!” a final fan added, in reference to Gasly’s podium finish for Toro Rosso just months after being demoted.

Where Isack Hadjar ranks among Red Bull’s youngest drivers

The Christian Horner-Helmut Marko regime at Red Bull was famed for its ruthlessness. New boss Laurent Mekies, who worked with Hadjar at Racing Bulls between January and July 2025, may be more patient.

Mekies is conducting a ‘360-degree’ review into Red Bull’s persistent second driver problem. That sounds like an admission that the team are predominantly at fault.

According to his new boss, Hadjar has elite raw speed already. The question now is how much he can develop.

Hadjar will become one of the youngest drivers ever to race for Red Bull when he makes his debut in March. Only Max Verstappen (18) and Daniil Kvyat (20) have reached the team at an earlier stage.