Photo: Red Bull
Formula 2 runner-up Isack Hadjar will graduate to Formula 1 in 2025 with Racing Bulls, securing the last seat on the grid for next season.
Hadjar’s chance comes after his backer Red Bull parted company with Sergio Perez this week and moved Liam Lawson across from Racing Bulls to replace him at Red Bull Racing.
The 20-year-old French Algerian started his single-seater career in French Formula 4, where he came third in his second season in 2020, before stepping up to the Formula Regional European Championship.
There he won two races on his way to fifth in the standings and caught the eye of Red Bull’s Helmut Marko to earn backing for a move up to FIA Formula 3 with Hitech GP. He fought for the championship as a rookie, but ultimately finished fourth.
Hadjar then stepped up to F2 in 2023, coming 14th in the standings in a tough first campaign with Hitech before switching to Campos Racing for 2024, when he won four feature races and fought Gabriel Bortoleto for the title until the final race.
“I’m very excited to step into my new role at VCARB [the name Racing Bulls used this season],” he said. “This is huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning.
“The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in F1 is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream.
“I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team.”
Hadjar will be one of six drivers taking part in their first full seasons in F1 in 2025, together with Lawson, Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes-AMG, Ollie Bearman of Haas, Jack Doohan at Alpine and Bortoleto, who has signed for Sauber.
Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies said Hadjar’s “journey to F1 has been nothing short of outstanding”.
“He has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks,” he added. “He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact.”