Isack Hadjar issued 'naive' warning over Max Verstappen challenge

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson has stated it is “naive” for Isack Hadjar to think the technical regulations overhaul will allow him to get close to Max Verstappen.

Hadjar has been chosen as Verstappen's team-mate for the 2026 season, replacing Yuki Tsunoda, who struggled for results throughout the year.

The Frenchman's step up to the senior team comes after a successful rookie campaign which peaked at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Hadjar sealed a maiden podium.

However, he faces a significant challenge next year as he is placed alongside Verstappen, who has a long history of dominating his Red Bull team-mates.

Hadjar has suggested in the past that 2026 is an ideal time to join Red Bull as the car will be wiped clean of the challenges that Verstappen's team-mates faced behind the wheel through the ground effect cars.

But Davidson suggested it may not be that simple for Hadjar.

“It’s not just this set of regulations, let's be honest, where Max has destroyed every team-mate he's had,” Davidson told Sky F1.

“Think back to pre-2022 when he had team-mates like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, drivers like that who are really high calibre.

“A completely different generation F1 car, and he did the same to them as he's doing to the current [driver].

“Maybe it’s a little bit naive of Isack to think that just because the regulation is changing, that's going to give him an equal footing and therefore ‘I'm going to take the fight to the four-time world champion.”

The cars will undergo a dramatic change next year to both the aerodynamic rules and the power unit regulations will shift.

It is set to place increased importance on the driver and how they manage and deploy energy.

“Let’s see how he [Hadjar] does,” Davidson added.

“But it's going to be a thinking drivers’ championship next year with those cars, with the way they have to think your way around the energy management.

“Max is going to be all over it.”