Why Red Bull had no choice but to promote Hadjar for F1 2026

Red Bull has chosen Isack Hadjar to be Max Verstappen‘s team-mate in 2026, a decision that looked like a foregone conclusion given how the team’s own driver strategy has narrowed its options.

After Yuki Tsunoda failed to make a convincing case in 2025, and Liam Lawson’s demotion left a gap the team had no clear plan to fill, Hadjar was the only logical outcome of a process that has become painfully predictable.

The reality is that Red Bull effectively had three options for next season: two almost rookies and a familiar face.

Tsunoda, a known quantity within the team, would have been the ‘safe’ option but also probably the least inspiring – a driver who, after being parachuted into the senior team when Lawson was sidelined, never made the seat his own.

The Japanese has made some progress, but not enough to justify another season.

Lawson had been the long-term plan, but Red Bull’s patience ran out after just two races into 2025 and so Tsunoda got the promotion.

All that left just Hadjar: fast, quite consistent and, crucially, the only one who fit the team’s preferred model of promoting from within.

Some 10 years ago, the idea of Red Bull being forced to choose between a pair of unproven youngsters and a stagnating incumbent would have been almost unthinkable.

Today, it feels almost inevitable given how Red Bull has been going about picking its drivers over the past year or so.

Whether it’s the result of a flawed junior driver scheme, the unwillingness to upset Verstappen, or the reluctance to look outside of its driver pool, Red Bull’s driver line-up options have been very limited.

Will history repeat itself?

Hadjar is stepping into a seat occupied by Tsunoda, whose 2025 campaign was a painful reminder of the pressure that comes with being Verstappen’s team-mate.

The past few years have shown that Verstappen needs little help to fight, and win, championships, but as a new rules era begins, Red Bull will not want to be in a position in which it relies exclusively on its star driver, particularly if it cares about being a real contender in the constructors’ championship.

As many drivers before Hadjar have learned, being Verstappen’s team-mate is more of a trap than an opportunity.

Verstappen is in his prime, a driver at the peak of technical mastery, physical conditioning, and psychological edge. He’s on a different level than most drivers on the grid, let alone his less experienced team-mates.

Using Lawson as an example of the dangers of partnering Verstappen wouldn’t be fair in terms of performance, because he was removed after just two races.

However, the Kiwi’s case does highlight a dark side of the realities of being at Red Bull, at least under Christian Horner’s leadership.

It remains to be seen what Lauren Mekies’ approach will be, but recent history highlights the challenges of being Verstappen’s team-mate.

As well as Lawson and Tsunoda, Hadjar will join Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez on the list of team-mates to Verstappen, and that is a scary prospect for a man in his sophomore season.

Being Verstappen’s team-mate isn’t just about driving a fast car. It’s about surviving in an environment where everything revolves around Verstappen.

Perez, Gasly and Albon have all been blunt about it: the car evolves towards Verstappen’s preferences, often at the expense of the second driver’s comfort or confidence.

It’s not that Verstappen actively marginalises team-mates, he doesn’t need to. His speed sets such a high bar that the team’s natural instinct is to keep giving him more of what works.

Red Bull’s decision to replace Tsunoda with Hadjar may signal a new, hopeful start, it’s also easy to argue that this is a coup for the rookie.

Limited options

The paradox for Red Bull is that it had to make this move.

With limited options outside its own camp, Hadjar was the only route that aligned with Red Bull’s brand identity.

Promoting him keeps faith with the junior programme, but it’s hard to ignore that Red Bull has stopped seeking, or is unable to seek, equals for Verstappen.

What Red Bull truly needs is not a young prospect with upside, but a driver who has already proven they can win in Formula 1, someone whose reputation is bulletproof enough to survive being dominated by Verstappen.

There are a few drivers that fit that bill, but for whatever reason, they were ruled out or weren’t interested in joining what is essentially Verstappen’s team.

Some of the drivers Red Bull has sacked over the years would ironically be great options to partner Verstappen now, although it remains to be seen whether any of them would be interested.

Albon, Gasly, Carlos Sainz, all previous Red Bull juniors, would have been solid options to race alongside Verstappen.

Would they have been dominated by him? Probably, but at least they wouldn’t be putting their careers on the line in their second year in the series.

In his defence, Hadjar has little choice: when your employer offers you a promotion, you have to say you are ready for it, otherwise you face being ostracised, particularly when you are an F1 driver.

Some hope on the horizon

There’s no question that as Verstappen’s team-mate, Hadjar inherits one of the most unenviable roles in modern Formula 1. But there is also hope for him.

The French-Algerian has been, for a significant part of his first Formula 1 season, the most consistent of Red Bull’s drivers besides Verstappen, earning a strong reputation that made him the most likely candidate to join the four-time champion some time ago.

His performances in 2025 have been outstanding at times, showing flashes of composure – like on his way to a Dutch GP podium – that mark him as more than a junior experiment.

Hadjar’s potential is genuine, and while his consistency has not been what a team like Red Bull needs right now, it’s still very early days in his F1 career.

Aware that 2026 will be only his second year in F1, Red Bull might give Hadjar more time and breathing space to grow, particularly under the apparently more forgiving Mekies.

If the new team boss manages to convince Red Bull’s bosses to nurture Hadjar the way Mercedes is doing with Kimi Antonelli, then he should have enough breathing room to show what he is capable of.

Hadjar also has timing in his favour, and the new regulations in 2026 could reset the technical landscape.

Pérez’s early success in 2022 came when the RB18 was still a little more benign, before the car evolved sharply in Verstappen’s direction.

If Red Bull builds a car with a more neutral balance out of the box, Hadjar might have a shot at hitting the ground running. But he’ll need to adapt quickly.

The question will be if Hadjar, as brilliant as he may be, has the armour to survive alongside Verstappen and whether Red Bull has the patience to find out what he can do its its car.

By promoting him after just one year in F1, Red Bull might be taking a risk but, as a every man before Hadjar has found out, the stakes are much higher for the driver than they are for the team.