Stepping into the second Red Bull seat is one of the most reliable ways to destroy a career in modern Formula 1. Pierre Gasly lasted eleven races. Liam Lawson lasted two. And yet here is Isack Hadjar, still standing after eleven rounds, still within two tenths of Max Verstappen in qualifying, and drawing genuine praise from people who know exactly how difficult that is.
The Benchmark Nobody Could Hit
Red Bull reportedly operates an internal threshold: a second driver must stay within three tenths of Verstappen in qualifying to justify their seat. Since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of 2018, nobody sustained that standard. Gasly sat five to seven tenths back in 2019. Albon trimmed that to three or four tenths but crashed too often. Sergio Perez hovered around two to three tenths early on, then ballooned to half a second gaps before the end. Hadjar is averaging just under two tenths back. That is the closest any Red Bull team-mate has been to Verstappen in seven years.
Former F1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson was blunt about what that means.
“I think he’s doing very, very well; better than a lot of Red Bull drivers have managed alongside Verstappen. On average, he’s just under two tenths in qualifying, and he’s done it yet again here. He should be proud of what he’s done so far.” – Anthony Davidson
The Numbers Back It Up
Hadjar has 68 points from ten races, averaging 6.8 per weekend. Yuki Tsunoda managed 3.25 points per race in the same seat. Lawson scraped two points total in two attempts. Even Perez, in his declining 2024 phase, averaged only 6.3. The 21-year-old Frenchman admitted he arrived with doubts, fully aware of the graveyard he was walking into.
“Obviously you come in, and you’re aware of where you landed. I definitely had a few doubts because it’s Max; it’s undeniable that he’s great.” – Isack Hadjar
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is equally encouraged, noting that Hadjar improves every single time he gets in the car and still has reserves to tap into. Given the contract situation swirling around Verstappen himself, having a stable and improving second driver is the one piece of good news Red Bull can genuinely celebrate right now.
Reassurance From an Unlikely Source
There is one other reason Hadjar is not crumbling under the pressure: Verstappen is complaining about the same things. Red Bull is winless through eleven rounds for the first time since 2015, and Verstappen has been vocal about the car’s handling issues. Hadjar confirmed he is aligned with his team-mate’s frustrations, which at least tells him his struggles are not personal failings.
Davidson also highlighted the psychological weight of racing a four-time world champion every weekend, pointing out that confronting a benchmark you cannot fully close is a mental challenge as much as a physical one. Hadjar, to his credit, seems to be processing that reality rather than cracking under it. Verstappen still outclassed the field in Hungary, but Hadjar was at least part of the conversation.
Half a Season Is Not a Career
Ten strong races do not guarantee ten more. The second half of the season will be the real test, and Red Bull will expect more than respectful gap management if they are going to build around Hadjar for 2027. For now, though, he is the first driver in years to make the seat look merely difficult rather than catastrophic. Given the history, that alone is worth something.
