Giedo van der Garde tells Max Verstappen ‘there’s a limit’ in his Isack Hadjar relationship

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Giedo van der Garde expects Max Verstappen to try to help Isack Hadjar at the start of their time as Red Bull teammates, but he predicts “more games” if the pair get close.

Red Bull have promoted Hadjar from sister team Racing Bulls to partner with Verstappen for the 2026 F1 season. The second Red Bull drive has been something of a poisoned chalice in recent years, with no one able to get close to what Verstappen can produce in the same car.

Verstappen has carried Red Bull ever since Daniel Ricciardo left the Milton Keynes crew back in 2018. He particularly led the team throughout the ground-effect era, with the 28-year-old scoring 60% of Red Bull’s points in 2022, 67% in 2023, 74% in 2024 and even 93% in 2025.

Hadjar has already shown that he should be able to contribute more to Red Bull’s tally in the first campaign under the 2026 F1 regulations. The 21-year-old qualified P3 for the Australian Grand Prix, and he was running comfortably in fourth place before suffering an engine issue.

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Giedo van der Garde expects Verstappen to ‘play games’ if Isack Hadjar starts getting close

There have even already been claims that Hadjar might have proven that Verstappen cannot make the difference under the 2026 F1 regulations, given his performance at Albert Park last week. Verstappen crashed during qualifying in Australia but recovered from P20 to finish P6.

READ MORE: Who is 2026 Red Bull F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know

Former F1 driver Van der Garde suspects Verstappen has been helping Hadjar to settle in at Red Bull, having seen his fellow Dutchman emerge as a “mentor” to young drivers in recent years. Yet he expects Verstappen to start playing games with Hadjar if the duo get too close.

Van der Garde told Formule.NL: “Last season, Max was often portrayed as a mentor to the latest generation, to guys like Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto.

“I suspect he’ll also be open with Isack Hadjar about his set-ups and things he’s trying. Max is always chill and relaxed. Although, there’s a limit to everything.

“Because if your teammate really gets close, as a driver you have to change your approach and start playing more games. Knocking on a hotel door every now and then, and so on. Because close is fine, over the top is not.”

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Van der Garde speaks from experience, as he adds that he got someone to knock on Charles Pic’s hotel room door whilst teammates at Caterham in 2013. Caterham failed to get a single point that year, but Pic finished P20 in the standings while Van der Garde only managed P22.

He recalled: “During my F1 season at Caterham, I occasionally had someone knock on my teammate Charles Pic’s bedroom door a few times at night to disturb his sleep, hoping he’d be a bit less sharp in qualifying the next day. We were evenly matched as drivers, so you automatically push the boundaries.”

Hadjar is unlikely to finish the 2026 season ahead of Verstappen in the F1 drivers’ standings, no matter how much help the Frenchman gets from the other side of the garage. His task at Red Bull is to add to the team’s points tally for their position in the constructors’ standings.

While 2026 is the start of a new regulatory cycle, Verstappen also has years of experience in F1 and with Red Bull. So, the Parisian’s main goal, for now, needs to be reducing the 0.469s margin between himself in P10 from Verstappen in P8 during Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai.