Martin Brundle calls Isack Hadjar’s reaction to getting 2026 Red Bull seat ‘unusual’

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Isack Hadjar will make his final appearance as a Racing Bulls driver at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull have confirmed that he will be Max Verstappen’s teammate next year.

The move has been seen as an inevitability since the summer. In fact, Christian Horner indicated that Red Bull would promote Hadjar before he was sacked in July.

The Frenchman subsequently scored his first career podium at the Dutch GP, and the incumbent Yuki Tsunoda has had no response.

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Hadjar is looking to break the cycle of second-driver woe at Milton Keynes that stretches back to the end of the 2018 season, when Daniel Ricciardo left the team.

Martin Brundle thinks Isack Hadjar has ‘the right character’ for Red Bull

Earlier in the season, reports suggested that Hadjar wanted another year at Racing Bulls to continue his development. But he’s since changed his mind.

Now, Hadjar is relishing his Red Bull move. He says he grew up watching Sebastian Vettel dominate and now has the chance to emulate him.

During Thursday’s press conference, Hadjar said he had ‘some things in common’ with Verstappen in terms of mindset and expressed confidence that 2026 was the perfect time to move due to the changing regulations.

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle interviewed Hadjar on Thursday and is confident in Red Bull’s ‘future-proofing’. He was impressed by the rookie’s response after he crashed on the formation lap before his debut in Australia.

“Some unusual answers he came out with, but good,” Brundle observed. “He’s clearly got a lot of talent. He’s weathered a couple of storms this year very well indeed. I think he might just be the right character.

“I like what Red Bull have done to be honest. They’ve got some future-proofing going on with Arvid Lindblad coming into the Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, and then what they’re doing in the main team.

“Max has made it very, very clear that he’s not going to be around for the long term.”

What does Max Verstappen think about Isack Hadjar’s promotion?

Juan Pablo Montoya is concerned that Hadjar won’t be driving the same car as Verstappen. They may start out with an equal specification, but history suggests that the four-time world champion will be first in line for upgrades.

It is worth noting that Laurent Mekies has made an effort to update Tsunoda’s car since he took over. Mekies worked with Hadjar at Racing Bulls before succeeding Horner.

For Hadjar, consistently lapping within a few-tenths of Verstappen and competing at the front (assuming Red Bull are still up there with their own power unit) are the main objectives.

While he was reluctant to go into detail, Verstappen says promoting Hadjar was ‘logical’. While there was a case for patience, his results, compared to those of Tsunoda, made the case for change overwhelming.