Isack Hadjar, a 20-year-old Frenchman under the wing of Red Bull and a contender for the F2 title, is on track to sign with Racing Bulls in F1. Neither the wait nor the pressure seem to faze him, not even when driving in free practice sessions, as he did last year, in Max Verstappen’s car.
Isack Hadjar is a modern version of Janus, the two-faced Roman god, also the deity of doors. The 20-year-old Frenchman indeed has a protean personality that can give the appearance, on days of anger or disappointment, of a silent demon, and on days of great joy or intense happiness, of an inexhaustible enthusiast.
Despite a schedule similar to that of our next Prime Minister, the Frenchman was in excellent spirits on Thursday. He didn’t mind covering the distance between the F2 and F1 paddocks. Even though they are quite far apart and the weather was very hot, the driver was full of energy and bounding around like a young goat. On Sunday, several doors could swing wide open for him.
“I always want titles,” he repeats, turning down the coffees offered to him in the Racing Bulls hospitality suite. “I would like to win them all without exception. We have struggled a bit lately on tracks like Baku or Qatar, but I think on a track like Abu Dhabi, we can have a competitive car. There’s half a point, there’s not much calculation to do.”
Isack Hadjar
“I believe I’ve had my share of hardship in the lower categories.
Unfazed by this final battle in F2, Hadjar is also not worried about his future. “Nothing has been decided and nothing is signed yet,” he begins cautiously, as if trying to quell the inner fire that sometimes consumes him. “But I believe I’ve had my share of struggles in the lower ranks and in F2, there’s no future, the grid is already set.” Some might interpret this as arrogance, or even conceit. It’s simply confidence. Hadjar has always believed in himself, and he doesn’t hide it.
If he has no future in F2, there is, however, a future that is increasingly taking shape in F1, even though, according to our information, nothing has been finalized yet with Red Bull. Things are looking good, even very good, for the Frenchman. On Thursday, South American TV channel Fox Sports announced that Sergio Perez would no longer be part of the Austrian team next year.
A Seat Will Naturally Open Up at Racing Bulls
With the Mexican teammate of Max Verstappen exiting in 2025, a spot is up for grabs among the big names. And as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have agreed not to sign Colapinto and to prioritize members of their own program, whether it’s Liam Lawson (likely) or Yuki Tsunoda (possible), a seat will naturally open up at Racing Bulls.
For that seat, Isack Hadjar, who has not disappointed in his second season in F2, is clearly in pole position to join the Italian team from Faenza and become the fourth Frenchman on the team after Sébastien Bourdais, Jean-Éric Vergne, and Pierre Gasly, who all started in F1 there. And if he becomes the first Frenchman to join the grid since 2018… his discourse will not change. “I’m here to win all the Championships.“
Don’t see this as the boastfulness of a braggart but the frankness of an expressive individual who will be driving the number 1 Red Bull, the champion’s car, this Friday for the EL1, just like last year at Yas Marina.
