Red Bull second seat call questioned after latest 'big risk'

Former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski has questioned Red Bull’s "big risk" in promoting Isack Hadjar to partner Max Verstappen.

Ahead of last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that, after just one campaign in Formula 1, Hadjar would move from Racing Bulls to the main outfit.

In doing so, he has replaced Yuki Tsunoda, who now finds himself as Red Bull’s reserve driver for the 2026 F1 season.

After crashing on the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix – his maiden F1 race – Hadjar went on to become a consistent presence in Q3 and a regular points finisher.

He surprised many in the paddock and even secured a podium at Zandvoort, finishing third. Now, he will become the eighth different driver to partner Verstappen, with all but one having suffered the same fate.

With the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, all of Verstappen’s former teammates have crumbled alongside him, due to the relentless performance of the four-time world champion.

Hadjar is next in line to take on the challenge, with Budkowski believing that while the Frenchman deserves the opportunity, he could be another driver promoted too early within the Red Bull system.

Asked on a recent episode of the RacingNews365 podcast if he believes Hadjar can match Verstappen, Budkowski said: "Oh, well, I don’t know. I think he deserves a chance.

"The only thing I’m concerned about is that he has talent, he has speed, and he looks to have the head to cope with it—but we will only find that out next year, when he starts to get beaten by Max.

"The big question here is: is it too early? We’ve seen that it’s a habit of Red Bull to launch drivers into the main team very, very quickly.

"It worked well with Max. It didn’t really work well with anyone since then, so I think that’s the big risk."