Hadjar closing on Red Bull promotion – Marko

Isack Hadjar is emerging as the clear favourite to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull from 2026.

The 20-year-old rookie grabbed headlines with his Zandvoort podium in a Racing Bulls, becoming the youngest French driver ever to stand on an F1 podium, while Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles continue.

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, who has praised Hadjar throughout the year, said the result did not surprise him.

"Not really surprising," he told Osterreich newspaper, "if you've followed Hadjar's path into Formula 1 and what he's made of it."

He then hit back at his interviewer for previously talking up Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli. "You parroted Toto Wolff who said what a great driver Kimi Antonelli is," Marko snapped.

When the journalist argued that Antonelli had entered F1 with a stronger junior record and greater preparation, Marko shot back: "Sure, but with 10,000 km of practice in a two-year-old car, with which Mercedes let him practice day and night. Before this season, Hadjar had maybe 500km in a Formula 1 car."

Hadjar’s start to 2025 was actually rocky, including crashing on the formation lap in Melbourne and crying on his return to the paddock.

"He laid it on a bit too thick," Marko remembered. "At the very least he could have taken off his helmet so everyone would have seen that he wasn't really crying.

"It's true – those times weren't always easy, but the speed was always there, and in the end he put it all together perfectly."

Asked why Hadjar wasn’t drafted straight into the senior Red Bull lineup earlier this season when Liam Lawson faltered, Marko replied: "Because for that he needs a certain amount of routine. In a top team the pressure is much greater, as you can also see at Mercedes."

Marko declined to confirm Hadjar’s future outright, but dropped a clear hint. "We'll see," he said. "We have until October to make that decision."

The Austrian also stressed Hadjar’s strong character. "He's a funny fellow. And highly intelligent, his mother is deputy HR director at a company with 4,000 employees, his father is a nuclear physicist."

A reunion with former Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies would also be an asset, Marko believes. "Mekies is a superb engineer, which with the complexity of Formula 1 today is a huge advantage," he said. "He's also good with people, the atmosphere is completely different from before."

And Verstappen himself? "It's going very well," Marko said with relief. "He has observed everything over the past weeks and is convinced it's heading in the right direction."