Isack Hadjar reveals unconventional plan to handle Max Verstappen challenge at Red Bull

Isack Hadjar has accepted he will initially be "slower" than Max Verstappen next season, which will mark his first alongside the Dutchman at Red Bull.

The 21-year-old has been promoted to the most difficult seat in F1 after only one season in the championship following an impressive rookie campaign at Racing Bulls.

Red Bull routinely developing its cars in the image of its four-time F1 drivers' champion is what has made its second seat a poisoned chalice, with the 28-year-old's love of highly sensitive, nervous, oversteering cars often proving too much for others to grapple with. 

However, unlike those who have come before him and failed, Hadjar has the advantage of being promoted at the start of a new regulations cycle, with the RB22 being developed from a clean slate.

"It's a new car. It’s not like Max knows the car; we all start from scratch," Hadjar told select media, including RacingNews365, in an interview following his promotion.

"I feel very, very lucky in the way I’m coming to Red Bull, so it’s going to be very beneficial. If the car has to go in one direction, then I’ll be here as well — and maybe it's from my input. So, I'm excited."

Having moved up through the support series ranks quickly, the new F1 cars will be the fifth different ruleset he has driven in five years, from Formula Regional to FIA F3, F2, and the final year of the contemporary ground-effect era in F1.

When it was put to him that his varied experience and the need to adapt quickly would be a benefit to him now, the Frenchman replied: "It is. I'm not used to anything. I just drive what I'm given. So it's a very good advantage."

An unorthodox approach

Since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of the 2018 season, Verstappen's team-mates have struggled to match his level or reach the standard required by the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, and now Yuki Tsunoda all came and went in short order. Only Sergio Perez, midway through that group, was an exception to the rule, but even as an outlier, he eventually was relieved of his duties for poor performance.

When F1 reaches Melbourne for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Hadjar will be the fourth driver to partner Verstappen in just 16 months.

But despite being afforded his opportunity on a fresh sheet of paper, so to speak, the one-time podium finisher has a novel plan for tackling the daunting task ahead.

"If anything, the goal is to accept that I’m going to be slower the first month," he explained

"I think that, if you go into that mindset, you accept already that it’s going to be very tough… looking at the data and seeing things you can’t achieve yet.

"It’s going to be very frustrating. But if you know, then you’re more prepared."

Avoiding getting 'stomped over'

Because of the regulation overhaul, there is a chance that Hadjar hits the ground running and immediately takes the fight to the 71-time grand prix winner, as Ricciardo did with Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

But Hadjar was keen to point out that the driver in the garage next to him is still Verstappen, new car or otherwise.

"If I were to jump in, if there was another year of this regulation, no way," he replied when asked if he feels he could be on his team-mate's level from the off.

"You never know, maybe the way you have to drive this [the 2026] car is suiting me perfectly, but, at the same time, it’s Max Verstappen.

"He doesn’t have a driving style. He adapts to what he’s given, and that’s what makes his strength.

"So he’s gonna be as good in next year’s car as he is on this year’s car and as he was on the year before. He is constantly adapting, too."

But when it was put to Hadjar that drivers who failed to make the grade alongside Verstappen in the past probably felt they were already beaten, he disagreed.

"I think they think the opposite," he responded, before expanding on his thinking.

"Everyone thinks they’re special. You come in like: 'He’s a human, I’m gonna beat him' — and then you get stomped over. And then the snowball effect starts.

"Whereas, if you come in, you’re like: 'Anyway, I'm not [at his level yet].

"We’re talking about the best driver on the grid. So the chance that I’m slower at the start of the year is very high.

"So I might as well accept it now and just work towards getting there... Of course, I’m hoping to be as fast as him. I’m hoping, but realistically, it's a very small chance."