Isack Hadjar will race for RB in Formula One next year after being named as Liam Lawson’s replacement.
Hadjar, 20, will partner Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull’s sister team for 2025 after Lawson moved up to the senior squad following Sergio Pérez’s departure.
The Frenchman joins the F1 grid after two years in F2 that culminated with him finishing as runner-up in this year’s championship in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m very excited to step into my new role at RB, this is huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning,” Hadjar said in a statement. “The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in Formula One is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream.
“I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team.”
RB’s announcement on Friday marks the conclusion of one of the silliest Formula One silly seasons as every seat is now filled with just 11 days left in the year. The 2025 grid will feature six full-season rookies and four drivers yet to make a grand prix start.
As part of Red Bull’s driver reshuffle sparked by the decision to part ways with Pérez at the senior team, Hadjar was always the leading member of its young driver program waiting to step up to F1. He took part in two free practice sessions for Red Bull this year and served as a reserve driver for both of its teams.
“We’re excited to have Isack with us next year, bringing a new and fresh dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025,” said RB team principal Laurent Mekies.
“His journey to Formula One has been nothing short of outstanding, he has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks. He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact.”
Hadjar has been part of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2021. He began racing karts in 2012 and jumped into cars in 2019, competing in the French F4 championship. “I was always interested in cars but not particularly the racing, because of the movie Cars,” Hadjar told RedBull.com. “My grandparents and parents are mainly doctors or physicists so they have nothing to do with motorsport but my dad always watched F1.”
Speaking on Thursday prior to the announcement, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that Hadjar had been quicker than Tsunoda when both drivers tested for the team in Abu Dhabi at the post-season test last week with a display that “turned heads.”
“He’s definitely a raw talent, he needs a little bit of polishing, but he has the speed,” Horner said. “He was unfortunate in Formula Two to miss out (on the title) at the last race due to technical glitches with start-line software, from what I understand, but he’s impressed as well. Particularly with his speed. It will be interesting to see how things pan out.”
Hadjar advanced up the motorsports ladder in 2021, making the move up from F4 to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) and the F3 Asian Championship. Hadjar had an immediate impact in FRECA that arguably shaped his future, dominating a round in Monaco that caught the attention of Red Bull.
Hadjar only competed in F3 for one season (in 2022, where he fought in the championship until the last race and finished fourth in the standings) before advancing to Formula Two for two seasons and participating in F1 practice sessions with AlphaTauri (now RB) and Red Bull.
He struggled to find consistency through his rookie F2 season in 2023, but it all clicked this year, when the title battle between him and Gabriel Bortoleto (who will race for Sauber in 2025) came down to the final race weekend. Hadjar finished 22.5 points behind the champion, failing to score any points in the finale after a technical glitch caused him to stall on the grid.
Required reading
- Who is Sergio Pérez’s replacement? Meet Liam Lawson, New Zealand’s latest F1 trailblazer
- How F1’s Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Pérez at Red Bull after a year of waiting
- Why being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate is Formula One’s hardest job
(Photos: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
