Guenther Steiner thinks Isack Hadjar has one ‘advantage’ that Liam Lawson never got at Red Bull

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Isack Hadjar will become the third F1 driver in a year to take on the challenge of being Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull in 2026, after Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

Red Bull have rotated their line-up once again after Lawson and Tsunoda failed to rise to the challenge of sharing the garage with Verstappen during 2025. Lawson lasted just two rounds before Red Bull sent him back to Racing Bulls, in a straight seat swap with Tsunoda in March.

Lawson had graduated to the main Red Bull team in December 2024 after the Milton Keynes natives released Sergio Perez. But Lawson’s lack of progress quickly frustrated Red Bull, as he could not adapt to the RB21 at circuits he had no F1 experience of in Australia and China.

But Tsunoda also struggled to extract the performance from the RB21 that Verstappen could unlock, as the latter fought for the F1 drivers’ championship. Tsunoda would only earn 30 of Red Bull’s 451 points in 2025, while Lawson got 38 points in his 22 rounds with Racing Bulls.

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The 2026 F1 regulations give Isack Hadjar an ‘advantage’ that Liam Lawson never got at Red Bull

Tsunoda’s plight has also cost him a seat on the grid, as Red Bull have promoted Hadjar from Racing Bulls for the 2026 F1 season. Red Bull also handed Lawson a new contract to stay at Racing Bulls in 2026, while Tsunoda will now switch to a reserve role for both of their teams.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations

Guenther Steiner believes Hadjar is potentially joining Red Bull at the ideal time, as the 2026 F1 regulations will let him “start from scratch” beside Verstappen. Lawson and Tsunoda both faced an uphill battle at Red Bull, as they had to learn a car that Verstappen knew inside out.

“I believe Hadjar is a really good racing driver,” Steiner has told Krone. “And, secondly, he has the advantage of the new regulations. This allows him to start from scratch with Max.

“Lawson and Tsunoda, however, were put in a car with which Max had a lot of experience, and they weren’t able to catch up quickly. Moreover, the field was so closely matched.

“Hadjar has better conditions in this respect. And the motto must be that Red Bull finds a talent they believe can become nearly as good as Max.”

Isack Hadjar was the second-best Red Bull family driver during the 2025 F1 season

Lawson admits he was “naive” to expect Red Bull would give him more time to adapt to the RB21 than the two rounds he spent in Milton Keynes. Red Bull needed a driver who had the potential to get regular points and help refine their set-ups to support Verstappen’s title bid.

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

Will Isack Hadjar suffer the same fate as Pierre Gasly at Red Bull?

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Tsunoda would not be Red Bull’s answer, either, as he only secured points in seven of the 22 Grands Prix that he entered for the team, along with in three F1 Sprint events. The 25-year-old has also now lost his drive as he finished the 2025 season 17th in the drivers’ standings.

Hadjar was the second-best driver in the Red Bull family in 2025 with 51 points for 12th in the standings as a rookie, ahead of Lawson in 14th with 38 points. The Frenchman was also the only Red Bull family driver other than Verstappen to score a Grand Prix podium in 2025.

Paris native Hadjar took his first F1 podium with P3 in the Dutch GP, when he profited from McLaren driver Lando Norris retiring whilst running in P2 at Zandvoort. Hadjar also secured his best qualifying result at Zandvoort with P4, while Lawson secured his best of P3 in Baku.