Ted Kravitz wonders if Isack Hadjar might have one advantage over Max Verstappen at Red Bull

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Isack Hadjar faces what Christian Horner once called the toughest challenge in Formula 1 next year, being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate.

Red Bull took the entirety of the 2025 F1 season to decide who should partner Max Verstappen next year.

Yuki Tsunoda struggled across the campaign after his mid-season promotion to replace Liam Lawson.

Lawson’s chances of a Red Bull return have vanished, and despite flashes of excitement, Tsunoda was never competitive enough to aid Verstappen or help the team in the constructors’ championship.

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After initial doubts about his suitability for Formula 1 and a devastating crash on the formation lap in Australia, Isack Hadjar has stepped up and proved he can deal with the pressure of being part of the Red Bull roster.

Hadjar achieved more Q3 appearances than any other midfield driver and scored his first podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.

After the news was confirmed, Hadjar reacted to becoming Verstappen’s teammate, and Karun Chandhok and Ted Kravitz have rated his chances against the four-time world champion.

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Speaking about Hadjar’s promotion on The F1 Show, Chandhok said: “If it were the current cars continuing, I would be very afraid for him.

“The fact that we’ve got new regs coming, there’s an opportunity that it might just balance out.

“I remember talking to Checo about this in Mexico earlier this year, and he was talking about how in that 2020-2021, he wasn’t that far away from Max, but the way the style of car and the way the car developed in this current generation just went so far in Max’s direction.

“It was impossible for anyone else. So, yeah, fingers crossed for Isack.”

Kravitz added: “Mekies is a fan and is a believer in Hadjar’s ability. So I think he’ll be better.

“And I hope he’ll be sort of Sergio Perez level. Will he be beating Max? I’m not sure.

“I think these cars are going to be so different, maybe it appeals, and we’ll go to the kids and the PlayStation generation. I don’t know if we can still call Hadjar that.

“Maybe Max, the amount of gaming he does will be absolutely fine. But the amount of management you need to do, the amount of complicated harvesting, the amount of understanding with this huge acceleration and then this regen you need to do and what your active aero is doing and when it’s shutting and all of that.

“Then Hadjar will be right on that. Whereas, maybe it might take Max a bit of time to adjust.”

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Red Bull already impressed with Isack Hadjar after maiden post-season test appearance

Hadjar jumped into Red Bull’s mule car for the post-season test in Abu Dhabi to immediately get to work with his new team.

Although he only set the 21st-quickest time on Tuesday, the 111 laps Hadjar completed would have been far more useful than trying to set the fastest lap.

Verstappen’s manager has told Hadjar what is expected of him, and despite the Dutchman being Red Bull’s clear number one driver, it’s also obvious that the youngster needs to be far more competitive than the four-time world champion’s most recent teammate.

Red Bull’s head of performance, Ben Waterhouse, said after Hadjar’s test: “Both drivers did an excellent job today, they gave us really detailed feedback and managed to complete the full programmes without any issues for either car.

“It’s been hugely valuable for the team to work with Isack; it’s given us the chance to get to know him better and develop that relationship heading into next year.

“We’ll take the findings from this test back to Milton Keynes and use them to refine our simulation tools ahead of Barcelona in just seven weeks’ time.”