The decision has finally been made: the two driver line-ups have been defined Red Bull and RB will line up on the grid next season. Alongside the four-time World Champion Max Verstappen Sergio Perez will not be there, as per his contract – now terminated – but the New Zealander Liam Lawson.. Ecosystem's staff is seat vacated by driver number #30 in Racing Bulls will come instead busy from a young talent coming from the preparatory category: Isaac Hadjar.
The French driver's great opportunity
For months now, rumours have been circulating in the paddock that the Perez-Red Bull story was over. Denials have come from both sides, but the disappointments and difficulties the Mexicans obviously did nothing but fuel the gossip regarding his future in Formula 1. Red Bull – as reported to the press by consultant Helmut Marko – has called a meeting after the final weekend in Abu Dhabi to discuss Checo's fate and the line-ups of the two “cousin” teams.
With Perez out, the Austrian team has chosen to entrust the driving of the other single-seater to Liam Lawson. In doing so, Racing Bulls started the Research to find the New Zealand substitute who will join Yuki Tsunoda. candidates The main candidates for the last vacant place for the 2025 grid were two: Franco Colapinto e Isaac HadjarThe Argentine took over from Logan Sargeant starting from the Monza Grand Prix, and ended the season with 5 total points in 6 races. The other contender for the seat was Isack Hadjar, driver of the Red Bull Junior Academy who has been busy this 2024 season in Formula 2 with the Campos Racing team.
It is not in fact news that Marko wants to bring young talents on the track grown up in the Milton Keynes team’s junior program. VCARB certainly took into account the Argentine’s performances with Williams, which had declined towards the end of the season – even the accidents did not go unnoticed. Colapinto had a first taste of the Circus, but now this Isack Hadjar will also have an opportunity. RB has chosen to place its trust in the French driver, born in 2004, who with today's announcement becomes a full-fledged Formula 1 driver.
Hadjar to make F1 debut with Racing Bulls
Isaac Hadjar will make his Formula 1 debut in 2025, but he won't be the only rookie. In fact, he will be joined on the grid by four more new entries: Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto. With the latter, the French driver fought to win the Formula 2 Champion title. In the last Feature Race of the season however, a problem of stall at the start he condemned him to second place in the standings, allowing Bortoleto to grab the victory of the Championship.
"It's the worst moment of my life”, he reported on the radio immediately after the incident. Not being able to fight until the last braking point for the title was certainly a hard pill to swallow for Hadjar. Former pilot Campos yes but can now console with a seat in the top category. The Frenchman has taken part in four free practice sessions over the last two years and at the end of 2024 he had the chance to touch the asphalt in the post-season tests held on the Yas Marina circuit. Isack got behind the wheel of the RB20 – which he had previously driven in FP1, also in Abu Dhabi – and surprised, with the same car and with the disadvantage of one compound, placing himself ahead of his future teammate Tsunoda.
Hadjar's words
“I am thrilled to be stepping into my new role at VCARB, it is a huge thing for me, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning. The journey from karting through the single-seater ranks to Formula One is the moment I have worked my whole life for, it is the dream. I feel like I am stepping into
in a completely new universe, driving a much faster car and competing with the best drivers in the world. It will be a huge learning curve, but I am ready to work hard and do my best for the team. I am looking forward to working with Yuki and learning from him. I have always looked up to him, he has been through the Red Bull Junior Program, like me, and we have shared a similar path to F1. He has a lot of experience and it will be useful to learn from him.”
