Isack Hadjar has identified an “annoying” downside to being a Red Bull Formula 1 driver, with the Frenchman braced for his first season with the team next year.
The 21-year-old enjoyed an impressive maiden F1 campaign, finishing in the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship with Red Bull’s satellite squad Racing Bulls.
With one podium and a further 10 points finishes, Hadjar became noted as the standout rookie of the season, and then rumoured to be heading for promotion within the Red Bull family.
Ultimately, that was exactly what he got, as it was announced prior to the final round in Abu Dhabi that he would indeed take the place of Yuki Tsunoda alongside Max Verstappen.
With being a Red Bull driver, there is naturally more expectation and weight placed upon a driver’s shoulders, more so given the long history of supposed under-performers in the seat.
Asked if he is comfortable with the added fame and attention he will receive as a consequence, Hadjar admitted he was not.
“No,” he told select media including Motorsport Week at the Yas Marina Circuit. “It’s just annoying, if anything.”
Questioned about how he will deal with that, Hadjar joked: “I’ll have a plan to disappear! Wear a mask, I don’t know.”
‘I’m not here to have a laugh’ – Hadjar bids farewell to ‘family team’ Racing Bulls
Despite the apparent lack of desire for fame, Hadjar has been willing to engage in lighthearted fun with team-mate Liam Lawson on Racing Bulls’ often amusing social media channels.
Both Hadjar and Lawson have been deployed as a comic relief amid the seriousness, miming to popular memes or answering humourous questions.
But whilst he is appreciative of what he will miss, Hadjar is keen to be serious about his career and the task ahead of him now.
“It’s going to be a lot more serious next year,” he said. “VCARB is a family team. At the same time, I’m not here to have a laugh.
“I have friends to have fun with when I come home. And when I’m on track, I’m here to work. I don’t mind it.”
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