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F1
Who is Isack Hadjar? Inside the Red Bull Racing driver’s rapid F1 rise
From a rookie podium to a 2027 Red Bull Racing deal, discover Isack Hadjar’s rapid rise through F1.
From his first laps in karting to Formula One podiums, Isack Hadjar’s rise through motorsport has been rapid. After a standout rookie season with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls in 2025, the French driver stepped up to Oracle Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen for 2026.
Hadjar has quickly made his mark with the senior team. He qualified third on his debut in Australia, claimed a podium in Monaco and put together seven consecutive top-six finishes before a wrist injury interrupted his season. Those performances have now earned him a contract extension for 2027. “I’m constantly looking to listen, learn and push myself further every single day, which only makes me more excited about what lies ahead,” he said.
Isack Hadjar joined Oracle Red Bull Racing for the 2026 F1 season
© Getty Images
I’m constantly looking to listen, learn and push myself further every single day, which only makes me more excited about what lies ahead
01
How Isack Hadjar is making his mark at Red Bull Racing
Hadjar joined Oracle Red Bull Racing at the start of 2026, becoming the 11th Red Bull Junior graduate to race for the senior team. His promotion came as Formula One entered a new technical era and Red Bull Ford Powertrains made its competitive debut.
The step up brought an immediate test, but Hadjar showed his pace from the opening weekend by qualifying third in Australia. After scoring his first points for the team in China, he went on to finish on the podium in Monaco and build a run of seven consecutive top-six finishes. With 71 points from his first 11 Grands Prix of the season, he sits eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.
His season was interrupted by a wrist injury that kept him out of three races, but Oracle Red Bull Racing has already committed to keeping him alongside Verstappen for 2027. Hadjar said: “I am really excited to continue with Oracle Red Bull Racing. I came to this Team eight months ago and immediately understood the scale and ambition of this organisation.”
02
Isack Hadjar’s early karting years and childhood dream
With his F3 car in Hungary
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
Only five years passed between Isack Hadjar's birth and the moment he put his foot on the accelerator for the first time. A year later, he then took a more "serious" (in his own words) step (yes, at the age of six) in this direction.
Under these circumstances, you'd usually assume that pushy parents were to blame for putting him behind the wheel at such an early age, but that wasn't the case here: "I always wanted to do it. Have you seen the film Cars? It gave me the impetus. I saw it and thought: 'OK, that's it, that's my thing'," he says. "I always had at least a little car in my hand."
When he was seven years old, he took part in his first regional competitions with a 4.5hp kart. That was the start of a burgeoning career. From regional level to the 2018 World Championships, Hadjar was able to prove himself in karting on almost every circuit in the country before moving to the next level.
03
Joining the FFSA: Hadjar’s rise through French motorsport
Isack Hadjar, the rising star of French motorsport
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
After that, he was gripped by his obsession with Formula One. Although he continued his education at a public school when he joined the FFSA (Fédération Française du Sport Automobile) academy, he says in retrospect: "The FFSA was like a second home". It was there that he discovered the joys of single-seater racing in F4, finishing seventh in the French championship and taking his first victory at Spa-Francorchamps. A year later, at the age of 16, he had eight further podiums, two poles and three wins, finishing third overall.
The fact that he was a talent for the future could no longer be denied. He joined the FRECA, a regional F3 championship halfway between F4 and F3. While some drivers try to go straight from one level to the other by skipping this intermediate stage, in hindsight Hadjar is glad he made the decision to make the transition easier for himself.
The decision paid off, as he became a star in the Formula Regional. He cemented his position as Rookie of the Year with a magnificent victory in Monaco. Following his third place in the overall standings, the Red Bull Junior Team took notice and announced that he would join them for the 2022 season; this time in F3.
Isack Hadjar is now part of Formula One
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
His obvious talent meant he only spent a short time in F3. He raced there for one season, battling Victor Martins and Oliver Bearman straight for the title. Unfortunately, a failed qualifying session in Monza ruined his chances of overall victory. Despite the disappointment, Hadjar saw this stage as a real learning experience, particularly in terms of media exposure: "It takes place at the same time as F1 and is broadcast on Canal Plus, so of course the media coverage is not the same." He finished fourth, but made such a good impression that he was promoted to F2 a few months later.
His first season was all about getting used to the new environment. He says of the transition from F3 to F2: "It was difficult, the step was complicated. I remember that I didn't feel comfortable in my team. It's no longer just 'here, we give you the car and you drive it', this was a real, collective effort together with the engineers. If you don't feel well looked after, it can't work." He finished 14th, but in the following season Hadjar continued to establish himself as a rising star in motorsport.
He finished runner-up in the F2 World Championship with Campos Racing, narrowly missing out on the title. As he prepared for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, he was a few points behind Gabriel Bortoleto. Unfortunately, Hadjar stalled on the start line and his Brazilian rival went on to finish second and claim the title. Looking back, however, this season was a complete success: "We did everything right," he says with a proud smile on his face.
04
Overcoming challenges: Hadjar’s path through F2
On the F2 podium again at Emilia-Romagna
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
F1 drivers are often the envy of the younger generation. As successful sporting role models, they spark interest, curiosity and sometimes even envy. But when asked to talk about the difficulties he's experienced in his young career, Hadjar seems to have no choice but to be honest. He has to go back to the beginning of his career: "When I drove my first international season, I realised how hard it is. When you're young, you're already under financial pressure that you'll carry with you for the rest of your career. This financial aspect frustrated me; it was hard to cope with not being able to take part in all the championship races," he laments. "While I was at school, my colleagues were on the track [...] when you get to the race, you're obviously much less prepared [than they are]."
And then his switch to F2 was anything but a walk in the park: "The most difficult year of my life? That was in F2. In 2023, there were times when I thought: 'I'll never make it into F1'. When things aren't going so well, there are weekends when you wonder why you've made this journey. To be honest, I've had some really bad times," he explains.
05
Hadjar on the rivals he grew up racing
Hadjar's development has been exponential
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
Before making his Formula One debut in 2025, Hadjar was already familiar with many of the drivers he would eventually share the grid with. Asked at the time about his relationships with team-mates, Isack showed no reservations: “I may be biased, but I think I'm an easy-going team-mate. I consider myself a real team player. I've always been good to my colleagues, I don't try to hide information.”
When asked about his relationship with his other rivals, he replies: "I get on well with Pierre [Gasly] and of course I also know the F2 drivers who have moved up to F1 very well. These guys have been part of my life since we were kids. We've raced in the same championships, we've chased each other around the track and watched our progression from karting to F1. It's great to be on the grid with people like that."
06
Rookie F1 season: Hadjar’s first podium and Oracle Red Bull Racing move
In Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix
© Clive Rose/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Fifteen races into his rookie Formula One season, Isack Hadjar secured his first podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, finishing third after a dramatic race.
Hadjar went on to finish his rookie season 12th in the Drivers’ Championship with 51 points. His breakthrough podium at Zandvoort was the standout result of a campaign that established him as one of the grid’s most promising young drivers.
At the end of the season, Oracle Red Bull Racing confirmed that Hadjar would step up to partner Verstappen in 2026. The move made him the 11th Red Bull Junior graduate to race for the senior team – and less than a year later, his performances earned him another season in the seat for 2027.
