As Red Bull’s interest in Franco Colapinto fades, academy driver Isack Hadjar is well placed to join F1 in 2025. As Red Bull shuffle their driver line-up, Hadjar can expect to race for VCARB next season.
Red Bull domino effect should help Hadjar to make F1 debut
For all the importance of speed and raw pace, timing is also an essential part of a driver’s career.
In the case of Isack Hadjar, it seemed only a few weeks ago that Formula 1 would be just out of reach.
Although LWOS mentioned Hadjar as a contender to join VCARB last month, there were still many obstacles in the Frenchman’s way.
Perhaps the biggest was Colapinto’s emergence, with the Argentine capturing Red Bull’s interest after his debut.
Luckily for the Campos driver, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are no longer in hot pursuit of the Argentine.
With Sergio Perez on the verge of being replaced, Red Bull have confirmed that either Tsunoda or Lawson will be promoted.
In this scenario, Hadjar’s path to racing in Formula 1 is clear.
The 20-year-old is currently fighting for the Formula 2 Championship, sitting second in the standings.
With just half a point separating him from Gabriel Bortoleto – who will join Sauber in 2025 – Hadjar’s campaign has been very impressive.
Speed hasn’t been a problem for the Frenchmen, who has claimed four feature race wins this season.
Alongside this weekend’s F2 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Hadjar will also drive in FP1 for Red Bull.
This session will be a good opportunity to cement himself as a logical option for VCARB.
After showing some reluctance to promote young talent in recent years, the Milton Keynes-based outfit are changing their tune.
Sergio Perez’s increasingly imminent departure should facilitate the promotion of several academy drivers.
For a team who have struggled to replace Daniel Ricciardo since 2018, their aim will be to establish a more consistent baseline moving forward.
Helmut Marko has confirmed that Tsunoda and Lawson are the two front-runners to drive alongside Verstappen in 2025.
In this scenario, VCARB will have a seat ready for Hadjar to fill.
Should Red Bull promote the 20-year-old, he will be the first Red Bull junior since Yuki Tsunoda to go directly from F2 to F1.
