Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar has revealed that contract talks for next season are yet to take place, although he is leaving any discussions to his mum.
The F1 rookie has hugely impressed in the opening rounds, having gone from strength-to-strength since his disastrous debut in Australia.
In the season-opener, Hadjar failed to start the race after crashing on the formation lap, leading to an embrace with Anthony Hamilton, the father of Lewis.
That incident has not defined the French-Algerian's season, with him having immediately bounced back.
He has been a regular in Q3 in the opening seven rounds and has scored five points – four fewer than former team-mate and now Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Hadjar has often been the second Red Bull family driver on the timesheets, leading to speculation already that he could soon find himself alongside Max Verstappen.
For now, the 20-year-old has confirmed that contract talks for 2026 are yet to take place. He is yet to think about when he wants a deal sorted, although will leave it to his mum to sort.
"I haven't thought about it at all, so we'll see when the time comes," Hadjar told select media, including RacingNews365. "But at the moment, no clue. I leave this to my mum, and we'll see."
What is certain, is that Hadjar does not look set to suffer the same fate as Liam Lawson or Jack Doohan this season, in being demoted after only some races.
Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls after two rounds, whilst Doohan was dropped by Alpine to its reserve role ahead of Imola.
It is becoming a staggering norm in F1, although Hadjar recognises the importance of teams being able to axe drivers quickly
"It's quite extreme, but I feel like if your contract is really secure, and you have a one, four or five years or something [deal], and you start underperforming, then I think there's a big issue.
"Because it's Formula 1, and we want drivers that are performing at the best level possible. So it's good to always have an option to be replaced."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they are joined by former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski to look back on Imola and look ahead to Monaco! Max Verstappen's victory is a lead talking point, as is McLaren suffering a surprise defeat.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
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