Isack Hadjar has revealed he had his sights on his Red Bull Formula 1 promotion from the day he made his debut, last season.
Hadjar’s redemption arc, in his rookie season last year, was one of the defining storylines of the ground-effects era.
The French-Algerian racing driver’s F1 career started on the worst note possible – crashing out on the formation lap at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
But the then-Racing Bulls driver did not let that bog him down. He chipped away at the start and scored his very first F1 points only two races later in Japan.
Looking back, Hadjar reflected on what was a torrid beginning to life at the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport but he has come out of it pleased with his grit.
“I really enjoyed it,” he told Formula1.com. “I felt very stressed at the start of the year. I knew I didn’t have much mileage in F1.
“I knew it’s the biggest championship, it’s the last year of these regulations, so everyone is flat out, and I need to have the pace.
“Am I going to be three-tenths behind? I’m going to struggle to catch up, but actually, it never happened like that.”
Red Bull F1 promotion was Isack Hadjar’s only target
Hadjar impressed the upper echelons of Red Bull’s management, so much so that he got the seat alongside Max Verstappen in the RB22, this season.
His maiden F1 podium, at the Dutch GP, and a P12 in the driver’s standings all came good for the rookie.
That said, he admitted that despite all the PR talk about focusing on his season with the Faenza-based squad, taking each race as it comes, he was always focused on getting that Red Bull promotion.
“I was straight in the rhythm, and I must say, I just enjoyed it a lot,” he continued.
“I knew that if I did the job naturally, I would get the seat, the promotion. And to be honest, that was my target starting the year.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to take it step by step, blah, blah, blah.’ That’s what I was saying. But in fact, I wanted to have a big, big rookie season, step into the Red Bull, and that was it.”
Three rounds into the 2026 campaign, Hadjar has arguably vindicated the Milton-Keynes-based squad‘s decision to axe Yuki Tsunoda.
While the RB22 has been a tough nut to crack, Hadjar has been comparable to Verstappen – even getting the better of the Dutchman in terms of qualifying and race-pace on occasion.
READ MORE – Isack Hadjar delivers emphatic rejection of Red Bull second seat ‘curse’
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