Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has hinted that Isack Hadjar could be in line to secure the second seat alongside Max Verstappen in Formula 1 in the near future.
The French rookie has been the subject of longstanding speculation that he will be promoted from the team’s satellite squad Racing Bulls after an impressive debut season.
Hadjar is currently ninth in the Drivers’ Championship with a total of 38 points, having recently secured his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix last month.
Naturally, Hadjar’s name has been frequently dropped into the debate as to who might fill the second Red Bull seat next season, with the team struggling to find stability in it this year.
With Hadjar’s team-mate Liam Lawson originally beginning the season in it, Yuki Tsunoda replaced him after just two races, but the Japanese has also struggled.
And as the 20-year-old’s stock continues to rise, the likelihood of him occupying the role as Verstappen’s team-mate next year rises with it.
Marko intimated that Hadjar has all the attributes to warrant the position, telling Kleine Zeitung that he is a “really fast guy”.
“He certainly has the mental strength to hold his own against Verstappen,” the Austrian said.
“He also doesn’t make mistakes, which is really surprising for a new driver.
“He improves on every track and is fully involved after a few laps, regardless of whether he’s driven there before. He’s a really fast guy coming along.”
Marko says Red Bull keen to ‘stick with our driver pool’ for F1 2026
Red Bull is of course known for promoting its junior drivers from the ‘B-team’ to the full outfit, with Verstappen himself being an alumni of Racing Bulls, then known as Toro Rosso.
It’s only exception in recent years has been Sergio Perez, who spent four seasons as Verstappen’s team-mate until this year, when he was fired in favour of Lawson.
Red Bull’s revolving door of talent continues to turn, with Campos’ Formula 2 driver Arvid Lindblad the latest, the 17-year-old having been handed his first Super Licence a year early.
Marko confirmed that its Red Bull’s plans to continue in his vein for next year, but admitted if an outside driver was to become available, it would be churlish not to consider it.
“Fundamentally, we want to stick with our driver pool when it comes to the cockpits for 2026,” he said.
“If a super talent emerges [from another team], we won’t turn a blind eye, of course, but that’s not the case at the moment.”
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