Lewis Hamilton voices major Isack Hadjar concern: 'It does worry me'

Lewis Hamilton has explained the major worry he has over Isack Hadjar's promotion to Red Bull for 2026.

It was finally announced earlier this week that, for his second season in F1, Hadjar would be promoted from Racing Bulls to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull to replace Yuki Tsunoda.

Since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of 2018, Verstappen has had Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Tsunoda as team-mates, with Gasly lasting half a season, Albon one-and-a-half, Perez four, Lawson two races and Tsunoda 20. 

The difficulty in matching Verstappen and his driving style has been a constant problem for Red Bull, with even Perez being ground down after four years alongside Verstappen, despite his 281 grand prix starts. 

Hadjar is set to have just 23 under his belt when he joins the team against Verstappen, leading to Hamilton to voice the concerns he holds about the Frenchman's step-up.

"I am not going to lie, it does worry me," Hamilton told Viaplay when asked about Hadjar's promotion.

"I think he's done an amazing job this year, and he is still very, very young and he's still learning a lot about himself and his surroundings. 

"But he's done a phenomenal job this year, and he's got a great approach. 

"We all know what happens when people go to Red Bull and the envelope that you're thrown into, and obviously, I've not been there, so I can't tell from experience, but looking from the outside, it is obviously quite difficult. 

"Where he is, it seems like he's got a really good environment, and Yuki is an amazing driver, but every driver that goes there has this general experience, but it doesn't mean that those drivers aren't great.

"It is clearly something else, so I just hope that there are changes made that provide him with the right support."