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Despite setting the fastest time on day one, Isack Hadjar’s first week of F1 testing with Red Bull was derailed after crashing out in tricky conditions on day two.
Due to the current generation of cars still being largely in development, Red Bull’s third allocated day of testing last week in Barcelona was called into question following Isack Hadjar’s skirmish off the race track.
Team boss Laurent Mekies was sympathetic to Hadjar’s mistake in his comments to the media following the conclusion of day two, but the lack of spare parts in Red Bull’s garage saw replacements being flown in from Milton Keynes to repair the stricken RB22.
They arrived in the nick of time, and Max Verstappen was able to clock in another 118 laps on the final day to complete Red Bull’s test programme as the week-long shakedown came to an end.
Hadjar is currently in the spotlight at the Austrian constructor, given the record of the Dutchman’s teammates in recent years.
In fact, the Frenchman’s crash actually reminded Red Bull staff of a former driver who lasted just nine races at the frontrunning team in 2019.
- READ MORE: F1 fans are already comparing Isack Hadjar to old Max Verstappen teammate after Barcelona crash
Does Isack Hadjar have the right mindset for his promotion to Red Bull in 2026?
‘Many’ Red Bull staff were reminded of Pierre Gasly when Isack Hadjar crashed during Barcelona test
During an appearance on the F1 Insider podcast, journalist Ralf Bach revealed what ‘many’ Red Bull employees were reminded of after seeing Hadjar crash out during F1’s inaugural week of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.
He said, “It seems to be a kind of virus: you jump into the Red Bull, have Max Verstappen as your teammate, and instead of being cool and doing your own thing, you just go out there and try to beat him.
“I heard that he just looked at the times Max was driving, where he could be faster, and boom, the car was wrecked. That cost a day of testing, maybe even more.
“It reminded many at Red Bull of Pierre Gasly, the one from before, who was also at Red Bull at one time. He wrecked a car during a test drive, which cost them valuable time, so Hadjar didn’t do himself any favours there.
“Someone needs to talk to him and say, look, you’ve got one of the best drivers of all time up against you.
“You can’t just focus on competing with him. Just do your thing as best you can and then see how far you get. But at the moment, it’s the same old story.”
While it is still very early days for the 21-year-old Parisian, Red Bull have developed a reputation of chopping and changing drivers with rapid intent.
Something that may worry Hadjar is the fact that Red Bull vowed to keep Gasly amid his struggles with the team in 2019. They ended up replacing him during the summer break that same year.
How many podiums and wins will Isack Hadjar achieve in his first season as a Red Bull driver?
Laurent Mekies thinks very highly of Isack Hadjar after previously working with him at Racing Bulls
The key factor that is currently in Hadjar’s favour ahead of his first full season at Red Bull is that the main leadership team that has been responsible for the Austrian constructor’s brutal driver moves in recent years no longer holds positions at the team.
Christian Horner was sacked last July, and Helmut Marko departed from Red Bull on his own accord at the end of the 2025 term.
Mekies has been highly complimentary of Hadjar since the Frenchman was announced as Verstappen’s latest teammate in December, citing him as one of the ‘very best’ drivers on the grid.
They worked together during the first half of Hadjar’s rookie campaign at Racing Bulls, before Mekies was handed the task of taking over from Horner at the leading team within the Red Bull stable.
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