Hadjar makes astonishing Verstappen F1 title claim

Isack Hadjar has no doubt he can emulate the success of four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.

Hadjar embarks on his rookie F1 year with Racing Bulls this season, a consequence of Liam Lawson's promotion from the 'sister' team to Red Bull, allowing the French-Algerian to fill the vacancy.

The move represents a significant step in Hadjar's career after finishing fourth in F3 in 2023 and runner-up last year, falling just short after stalling on the grid in the final race in Abu Dhabi when in with a shot at the title, only to see Gabriel Bortoleto seal the championship.

Hadjar will be joined on the F1 grid by Bortoleto this term, with the Brazilian signing for Sauber ahead of it morphing into the Audi works team next year.

Hadjar concedes that whilst he has seen Verstappen "a few times", he has "never chatted deeply", although he has made sure of learning at every opportunity, as was notably the case at the end of last year.

The 20-year-old served as the reserve driver for Red Bull and RB after Lawson was asked to step in for the axed Daniel Ricciardo with the latter team for the final six races.

'I have learned from him, being at those races as a reserve," said Hadjar, speaking to RacingNews365. "Looking at him operate at such a high level, listening to the feedback he provides, it's just really impressive."

As to whether he feels he could emulate what Verstappen has achieved, Hadjar was unequivocal in his response. "Yes."

As to why, he added: "I have confidence. That's what I want to do. I don't want to be an F1 driver just to be in F1. I'm not interested in just being here. I want to do well."

Hadjar on F1 surprises

Hadjar completed a solid pre-season test programme, finishing second on the lap-count chart from all 20 drivers, racking up 243, with only Haas' Esteban Ocon ahead of him on 260.

As far as Hadjar is concerned, approaching his full F1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, there have been no surprises.

"I've been with the team, following the team closely, for like a year now, since I did my first FP1 session," he said. "So I pretty much know how things work for the drivers.

"I've been observing, in testing looking at how the plan went, how the car felt. To be fair, I felt familiar with everything. So in terms of preparation, there have been no surprises."