Racing Bulls chief loves the ‘first thing’ Isack Hadjar does when he’s beaten by Liam Lawson

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Isack Hadjar quickly emerged as one of the standout rookies on the 2025 F1 grid, yet Liam Lawson has since taken some of the shine off his Racing Bulls teammate’s term.

The 2025 F1 season was not initially meant to see Hadjar get his debut on the grid. Red Bull promoted the 20-year-old from F2 to drive for their junior team Racing Bulls last December after promoting Lawson to replace Sergio Perez, in a move that would only last two rounds.

Despite the circumstances that yielded his arrival, Hadjar adapted brilliantly to score points in five of his first nine Grands Prix. The Frenchman also scored his first points with P8 in the Japanese GP in only his third Grand Prix, and he took his best finish yet with P6 in Monaco.

It was not until the Monaco GP in round eight that Lawson scored his first points this term, as the 23-year-old finished in P8. But the front suspension update that Racing Bulls took to the Austrian GP during round 11 marked the start of Lawson leading the Faenza outfit’s efforts.

Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane loves that Isack Hadjar ‘looks at himself’ before seeking excuses

Lawson has scored 15x more points than Hadjar across the last four rounds to reach 20 for the season so far, compared to his teammate’s 22. The Kiwi sealed sixth in the Austrian GP, before finishing the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix in eighth for 15 of his 20 points yet.

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

Hadjar took his only point across the last five rounds with P8 in the F1 Sprint at Spa. But the way the Parisian responds to being beaten by Lawson impresses Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane. He admires that Hadjar looks at himself before seeking excuses for his issues.

Permane explained, via quotes by GPblog: “He’s a driver that when things aren’t going well or when he’s missing a bit to the other driver or the other car is a bit quicker, the first thing he does is look at himself. I think that’s a strength.

“Sometimes, if he’s not performing, he may be a little bit unhappy, but he’s focusing [and] he’s working hard. He doesn’t instantly point his fingers at the car or in Mario’s [Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola] direction.”

Isack Hadjar will want to respond to Liam Lawson’s revival with a Red Bull seat on the line

Racing Bulls’ front suspension upgrade in Austria helped Lawson rediscover the mojo he lost in his demotion back to the Faenza outfit from Red Bull this March. It was also not the Kiwi’s fault that he retired from the British GP for his only failure to score in the four rounds since.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Haas driver Esteban Ocon collided with Lawson on the first lap of the British GP in July, as he did not have any space to react to Yuki Tsunoda – the driver who got Lawson’s Red Bull drive – going up the Frenchman’s inside at Aintree. Lawson was an innocent victim on the outside.

Racing Bulls even endured a double DNF at Silverstone, as Hadjar crashed into Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the British GP. The Frenchman rear-ended the Mercedes rookie at Copse when he could not see the Italian’s car in the spray, yielding Hadjar’s only retirement in F1 so far.

Hadjar crashed on the formation lap for his F1 debut in Australia back in March, which then meant he did not start the Grand Prix in Melbourne. But he bounced back brilliantly, and will look to respond to Lawson’s revival after the summer break with a Red Bull seat on the line.

Motorsport adviser Helmut Marko is urging Red Bull to promote Hadjar for 2026 to replace Tsunoda, who is out of contract at the end of this season. Tsunoda only has 10 points so far this season, of which he scored three with Racing Bulls before replacing Lawson at Red Bull.