Isack Hadjar delivers defiant response to Red Bull curse

Isack Hadjar has reaffirmed that he is worthy of a seat at the front of the field after becoming the latest driver to join Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.

For several years, Verstappen has easily outpaced his team-mates, who have largely been left competing further down the order.

After a positive rookie season in 2025 with Racing Bulls, Hadjar was handed the second seat at Red Bull in place of Yuki Tsunoda, who struggled for form throughout the campaign.

When asked if he was worried about the second seat, given its history, Hadjar told F1: “Of course I did, in a way.

“If you look at the gaps between Max's team-mates, you're like, ‘Well, this is weird’.

“At the same time, I'm realistic. It's a new regulation, we have the same car.

“If I believe I'm good, I'm good, and that’s the end of the story.

“For the first three races, everything has gone how I anticipated it.”

Hadjar satisfied with 'small sample'

Red Bull has struggled to compete towards the front of the field across the opening three rounds of the current season in Australia, China and Japan.

Hadjar scored an eighth-place finish in Shanghai, his only point-scoring outing across the trio of weekends so far.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman is pleased with the job he has done.

“It’s a small sample, the car is what it is right now, it’s very hard to drive,” he said.

“But I'm not too far [away], and I'm happy with how I delivered in those first three races with the car I had underneath me.

“All in all, it’s pretty good.”