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Isack Hadjar has outlined his primary goal for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as he prepares for his Red Bull debut.

The Frenchman was selected by the Milton Keynes-based outfit to partner Max Verstappen this year as the sport enters a new era under fresh technical regulations.

Whilst it was a mostly positive pre-season for Red Bull, it ran into minor issues, which slightly hampered Hadjar's track time.

However, the 21-year-old has acknowledged he still feels he is in a strong position coming out of testing despite the limited mileage.

“Out of six sessions, we missed two, so it's quite a bit,” Hadjar told the media, including RacingNews365. “But we always made sure to compact and make the most of the other runs we got.

“It was never boring, to be honest. I feel as ready as I can heading into Melbourne. The guys were very good at making the most of the tests. We went through so many test items.

“I'm very glad with the understanding of the car. So I'm happy.”

Hadjar completed 59 laps on his final day in Bahrain to complete his pre-season programme before handing the car over to Verstappen, who rounded out the test.

As he now sets his sights on his first race with his new team, Hadjar has spent this week back at the team's factory to correlate the data.

“The goal for Melbourne is to make the most of the learnings,” he said. “[We will] try to make sure the direction we need to go in is clear."

As for working with Verstappen, Hadjar was positive, adding: "The work with Max has been very good, he's very open so far. It's good to have him by my side."

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365’s Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on last week’s first test in Bahrain and this week’s second test at the same venue. The trio debate Max Verstappen’s criticism of the regulations and whether Formula 1 is facing an identity crisis.

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