Isack Hadjar told what he cannot ‘dare’ to do at Red Bull ahead of replacing Yuki Tsunoda in 2026

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Red Bull have confirmed that Isack Hadjar will graduate from Racing Bulls in the 2026 F1 season, with the French rookie replacing Yuki Tsunoda in their main driver line-up.

Hadjar has greatly impressed Red Bull with what he has produced for Racing Bulls so far this year since gaining a last-gasp seat on the 2025 F1 grid. The 21-year-old was not set to claim a seat for 2025 until Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson to replace Sergio Perez last December.

Red Bull quickly decided that promoting Lawson was a mistake, so promoted Tsunoda in just the third round of the 2025 F1 season. But Tsunoda has, likewise, failed to impress with Red Bull, and he has to now settle for a reserve drive role for 2026 after failing to earn a reprieve.

Lawson will remain with Racing Bulls in 2026, having shown enough since he returned to the Faenza team in March to earn another season. The 23-year-old will partner Arvid Lindblad at Racing Bulls next year, as Red Bull give the British-Swedish 18-year-old his Formula 1 debut.

Isack Hadjar cannot ‘dare to dream’ that he will beat Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026

Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull for 2026 had been on the table for many months, but it was only confirmed on Tuesday ahead of the 2025 season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He will enter his final race with Racing Bulls at Yas Marina, where Tsunoda will bow out for Red Bull.

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

The Parisian cannot get too carried away by thinking about what he could achieve in Milton Keynes in 2026, though. Mike Hezemans feels Hadjar would make a huge mistake if he goes to Red Bull next year believing he can beat Max Verstappen, even with the 2026 regulations.

Hezemans told RacingNews365: “He has to keep thinking that finishing behind Max is not a big deal. It doesn’t matter, just go for it. Let’s see what happens.

“But don’t dare to dream, ‘I’m going to beat Max’, because that’s not going to happen. If he approaches it that way and just stays relaxed, then he does have a chance.”

Isack Hadjar has been the second-best performing Red Bull family driver in 2025

Hadjar has been the second-best performing Red Bull family driver during the 2025 season, having scored Racing Bulls 51 points over his first 23 rounds on the F1 grid. Verstappen has scored 396 points for Red Bull, while Lawson boasts 38 and Tsunoda has 33 so far this term.

Additionally, Hadjar is the only Red Bull family driver other than Verstappen to stand on the podium this season. Hadjar scored his maiden F1 podium with P3 in the Dutch Grand Prix in August, while Lawson and Tsunoda secured their best finishes in Azerbaijan with P5 and P6.

Lawson has scored all 38 of his points so far this year since the Kiwi returned to Racing Bulls in March. Tsunoda had scored three points with the Faenza natives before he moved to Red Bull ahead of the third round of the 2025 season, after which he has only secured 30 points.

Hadjar leads Lawson 12-8 in their Grand Prix results head-to-head and 15-6 in qualifying as teammates at Racing Bulls, too, during what is the former’s rookie season. Lawson is also a rookie on paper, but the 23-year-old had already started 11 Grands Prix before this season.