'Habits' holding back Hamilton and Sainz, says Hadjar

Just months into his rookie Formula 1 campaign, Isack Hadjar is already staking a serious claim for a future seat at Red Bull Racing.

Earlier this year, Liam Lawson looked like Red Bull's chosen one - promoted from the Racing Bulls outfit to partner Max Verstappen after Sergio Perez’s departure. But after a short-lived, two-race stint that ended in disappointment, Lawson was out.

In contrast, 20-year-old Hadjar - now driving for Racing Bulls - has racked up over five times Lawson’s points tally, and he’s attracting growing attention up and down the paddock.

But he’s not letting the praise go to his head.

"Whether I'm doing well, or badly, I don't hear anything," Hadjar told El Mundo Deportivo. "You can tell me I've done a good job, and I'll say thank you and nothing else. None of your comments will make me go faster."

Even so, the words of admiration from within Red Bull’s own camp surely don’t go unnoticed. Team principal Christian Horner told Canal Plus in Barcelona, "He's the most impressive of all the rookies this year. So far, he's exceeded all of our expectations."

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko, a key decision-maker on driver placements, is also paying close attention - particularly given that seasoned names like Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton have found it difficult to settle into their new machinery in 2025.

Hadjar, by contrast, seems right at home.

"I adapted quickly," he said. "Yes, I expected it. That's why I came to F1, actually. We're F1 drivers. I think every rookie has adapted very quickly as well. It's a good generation, I'd say. We learned a very high level in F3 and F2."

Asked why he’s managing to thrive where highly experienced others are struggling, Hadjar was matter-of-fact.

"Yes, but these are cases where they've been in the same car for many years and have habits. I don't have any habits, you know?

"I'm in an F1 car. The year before that, an F2 car, and before that, an F3 car. So I keep changing, I keep adapting. I don't have any habits, and having habits is the worst thing for a driver," he said.

Hadjar is clearly still soaking in the experience of Formula 1.

"In F2, at some point you get used to it and it becomes normal - it's not impressive. In F1, it's always impressive," he said. "It's not the freedom, it's more ... it's scary. It's really something incredible."

With both speed and maturity beyond his years, the conversation has already begun around when Red Bull will elevate him to the senior team.

Hadjar, known for his sharp mind as well as his driving, even decorates his racing helmets with mathematical and physics formulas - a nod to the academic path he nearly took instead of racing.

"I was never supposed to be an F1 driver," he said. "I don't even know how it happened.

"I was going to go to school, where I did very well, and I don't know, I would have ended up studying physics or engineering or something. But it eventually became Formula 1.

"I was very passionate about cars from a very young age. I always wanted to go karting. They followed me in my crazy dreams, and that's how it started."