Isack Hadjar must learn to ‘live with’ one thing beside Max Verstappen at ‘less oppressive’ Red Bull

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Isack Hadjar will join a new-look Red Bull in the 2026 F1 season, after being promoted from junior squad Racing Bulls for his second year on the grid to replace Yuki Tsunoda.

The 21-year-old is the third driver to move up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull in the past year. Red Bull initially replaced Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson last December, but they then sent the Kiwi back to Racing Bulls after only two rounds in a direct swap with Tsunoda in March.

Hadjar was not due to even be on the 2025 F1 grid before Red Bull released Perez and gave the Mexican’s seat to Lawson. Yet the Frenchman took full advantage of the late vacancy at Racing Bulls to produce a brilliant rookie season that will see him move to Red Bull in 2026.

Next term will even mark a step into uncharted territory for Red Bull. The team will go into a season without any of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley or Helmut Marko for the first time ever. Red Bull sacked Horner in July, and Marko left after the 2025 season.

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

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Isack Hadjar must learn how to ‘live with’ Red Bull favouring Max Verstappen despite their leadership changes

Marko has decided to leave Red Bull after 20 years as their motorsport adviser, plus 24 years overseeing their driver academy of which Hadjar and Max Verstappen are products. Red Bull GmbH managing director Oliver Mintzlaff will increase his role in the F1 team to fill the void.

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

Hadjar will also reunite with Laurent Mekies at Red Bull in 2026, after his fellow Frenchman moved over from Racing Bulls to replace Horner as their team principal and CEO in July. And FunoAnalisiTecnica now claims that Mekies’ ‘goal’ is to protect Hadjar and guide his growth.

But while Mekies intends to protect Hadjar, it is ‘clear’ that Red Bull will continue to revolve around Verstappen. Red Bull will also continue to lean on the 28-year-old at the start of the 2026 F1 regulations era for his technical and strategic advice in his 12th season on the grid.

Horner and Marko’s departures from Red Bull could see the team become ‘less oppressive’ compared to recent seasons. The long-time pillars of Red Bull often created tension at the factory towards the end of their time there, as Horner and Marko were fighting for power.

Hadjar will, instead, need to ‘learn to live with’ the unbalanced internal competition at Red Bull skewed in favour of Verstappen and adapt quickly to the situation that he finds himself in. The 2026 rules could help Hadjar’s cause, but he will not be expected to guide the team.

Isack Hadjar will hope his qualifying speed continues at Red Bull

Hadjar is stepping into the lion’s den by joining Verstappen at Red Bull, who have watched Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Perez, Lawson and now Tsunoda flop next to the Dutchman in the past seven years. Daniel Ricciardo was the last teammate to threaten Verstappen in 2018.

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

Does Isack Hadjar have the right mindset for his promotion to Red Bull in 2026?

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Additionally, Verstappen produced arguably his greatest F1 season so far in 2025, despite a two-point deficit to McLaren’s Lando Norris seeing his run of four successive titles come to an end. In contrast, Hadjar’s tendency to explode on the radio still creates a bit of concern.

Hadjar showed he has a lot of potential at Racing Bulls in 2025, especially during qualifying where Red Bull saw Tsunoda struggle the most compared to Verstappen. The Parisian made Q3 16 times in 24 rounds, whereas Tsunoda reached Q3 nine times and Lawson eight times.

If Hadjar is able to maintain his promising qualifying performances at Red Bull in 2026, then he could see the team start to grow more towards him and reduce part of the imbalance in favour of Verstappen. But, most crucially, Red Bull will need Hadjar to secure regular points.

While Ferrari fear Mercedes and possibly Red Bull have found a loophole in the 2026 engine regulations, which could be worth as much as three-tenths of a second per lap, next year is a step into the unknown for Red Bull, as they become engine constructors for the first time.