Isack Hadjar has maintained his interest in securing a Red Bull seat in Formula 1 despite witnessing erstwhile team-mate Yuki Tsunoda struggle in the RB21.
During his debut campaign in the sport, Racing Bulls’ Hadjar has been proclaimed a “revelation” by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.
The French-Algerian driver has taken the lead at the Faenza-based squad, sitting 11th in the standings, trailed by team-mate Liam Lawson (15th) and Tsunoda (17th).
The RB21 has gained a reputation as being a tricky car to drive, with Tsunoda’s spiralling performances adding more fuel to that particular fire at the Milton Keynes-based squad.
Tsunoda has only been able to score four championship points since being drafted in alongside Max Verstappen from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards.
The last race in Austria witnessed the 25-year-old be knocked out in Q1 for the third time in five races, which preceded a finish in 16th, last of the classified runners.
And while Hadjar says he isn’t privy to the inherent problems of the RB21, he is confident that Tsunoda can turn it around.
“I don’t know what’s going on over there, obviously, but the only thing I can tell is that Yuki is very fast,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
Lawson was also unable to adapt to the RB21, prompting the team to demote him to the sister team two races into the season.
Hadjar had initially joked that he was “scared” of the prospect of driving the car after witnessing both Lawson and Tsunoda’s plight; however, he has now clarified that getting into the main Red Bull team is his priority.
“When I signed the contract with Red Bull four years ago, the goal was to get to Red Bull, so it hasn’t changed,” he asserted.
“It’s definitely interesting. I would obviously love to, out of curiosity, go and have a look for myself.”
Hadjar hopes to match up to Verstappen
As things stand, Hadjar seems to be the next in line to inherit the second seat at Red Bull if the team decides to cut Tsunoda’s time short.
That said, the 20-year-old still believes that Racing Bulls is the right place for him for the time being to develop his race craft before making the step up.
“At the moment, I’m not doing… It’s not like I’m in total control; I’m scoring points every weekend,” he explained.
“There’s still a lot to learn, so it makes more sense to stay where I’m at at the moment.
When asked if he feels comfortable going up against the likes of Verstappen, Hadjar remained cautiously optimistic in his abilities.
“Mentally, yes. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s this. The only thing is, do I have the skills? Mentally, I know I’m strong, so I’m not very worried about that,” he said.
“Do I have Verstappen’s skills? I don’t know. I don’t know yet. That’s the thing.”
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