The seemingly endless driver speculation surrounding Red Bull has intensified since the US GP. After an impressive P9 finish on debut, Liam Lawson is an increasingly legitimate candidate to replace Sergio Perez in 2025. This could present a golden opportunity for Isack Hadjar.
Red bull will evaluate Hadjar for promotion
Speaking earlier this year, Christian Horner identified Isack Hadjar as a contender to join F1 in 2025:
“He’s making a strong case for himself next year, which is why we’re not in any rush to finalise seats in the sister team.”
At the time, the Frenchman was largely an outside option to race for VCARB. Hadjar was firmly behind Lawson in Red Bull’s priority list, as evidenced by the decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with the Kiwi driver.
However, with Lawson back in Formula 1, Hadjar is seen as the next in line to join the grid. The 20-year-old is currently fighting with Gabriel Bortoleto for the Championship. The last Red Bull junior to fight for the F2 title was Yuki Tsunoda in 2020.
Much like Bortoleto, Hadjar’s main rival, joining the pinnacle of motorsports is a realistic objective.
If Perez leaves, Hadjar can capitalise
As it stands, Liam Lawson is most likely to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. This is not to suggest that Yuki Tsunoda, who has put together a very solid 2024 campaign, should be ruled out.
Still, it is no secret that Christian Horner sees Lawson as a more exciting prospect than Tsunoda.
The Kiwi’s brilliant climb from 19th on the grid to 9th in COTA only reinforced the pre-existing opinions of Red Bull’s senior personnel.
Ultimately though, Hadjar is unaffected by whoever Red Bull select as Perez’s replacement. The only thing that matters for the 20-year-old is that someone leaves VCARB and leaves an empty seat.
Unless Perez can find form that has escaped him for two seasons, his chances of staying at Red Bull are very low. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have both spoken candidly about the need to find a strong teammate for Verstappen.
Assuming that the current trend continues, Hadjar will be better positioned than anyone else to join VCARB next year.
