Isack Hadjar has secured a contract extension with Red Bull Racing until 2027, putting him beside four‑time champion Max Verstappen at the pinnacle of the sport.
Unexpected Pathways: A Young Driver in the Shadow of a Champion
Hadjar, 22, admitted that sharing the Milton Keynes garage with Verstappen means confronting the “prime of the prime” of a seasoned driver early in his career.
“I’m probably facing the prime of the prime of the level you can achieve in Formula 1, and he’s just next to me in the garage,” he told the Beyond The Grid podcast.
He added that this arrangement is a notable responsibility: “To experience this at my age, this early in my career, I’m very, very lucky, and I’m thankful.”
Benchmarking the Best: A Daily Drive for Excellence
Hadjar sees every session as a chance to match and surpass a benchmark set by Verstappen.
“I love the challenge. I know he sets a benchmark I need to match and overcome. It changes everything I’ve had my career,” he explained.
He praised Verstappen’s single‑lap speed, describing it as “exactly what I expected—good, good, good.”
“But racing‑day execution remains unmatched,” he said, noting his own pacing aligns well within the Red Bull team’s high standards.
Consistency Unmatched: The Real Measure of Triumph
When asked what separates the world‑class driver from the rest, Hadjar pointed to unmatched consistency.
“There’s always a difference between what you aim to do and what you actually deliver, but he never has low moments or mistakes,” he reflected. “He’s always at the right time, the right place, and even creates his own luck.”
He illustrated the idea with corners: “If a track has 15 corners and you master five, Verstappen matches you there and continues flat across the lap, leaving no gaps.”
From his perspective, that flat, peak‑free consistency is what makes a driver “so tough.”
"