Isack Hadjar is bracing himself for what he expects to be a bruising education alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing – one that will test his pace but also his patience.
Promoted for 2026 to partner the sport’s most complete driver – a three-headed monster of talent, consistency, and ruthlessness – Hadjar is choosing realism over bravado. He’s not just preparing for a faster car; he is preparing for a mental siege.
In a team where confidence can quickly become a liability, he believes survival may begin with acceptance.
History suggests Hadjar is right to be cautious. The Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen has become a graveyard for reputations, a high-pressure vacuum that has sucked the mettle out of some of the grid’s most capable drivers.
Pierre Gasly’s tenure was cut short by a surplus of pressure, while Sergio Perez – a genuine Grand Prix winner – struggled over multiple seasons to stay relevant against Verstappen’s relentless speed, and lost.
Most recently, the revolving door spun through Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, proving that at Red Bull, survival is just as difficult as arrival.
Preparing For the Uncomfortable Reality
Hadjar knows the stopwatch will not be kind at first, and he’s making peace with that before the season even begins.
“If anything, the goal is to accept that I'm going to be slower the first months,” Hadjar said, quoted by RACER.
“I think that if you go into that mindset, you accept already that it's going to be very tough – looking at the data and seeing things you can't achieve yet, it's going to be very frustrating. But if you know, then you're more prepared.
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“You never know. Maybe the way you have to drive this [Racing Bulls] car is suiting me perfectly. But at the same time, it's Max Verstappen. He doesn't have a driving style, he adapts to what he's given.
“That's what makes his strength. He's going to be as good in next year's car as he is in this year's car and as he was the year before. He's constantly adapting too.”
The acknowledgment is stark, but deliberate. Hadjar isn’t lowering expectations — he’s insulating himself against a psychological spiral that has undone others before him.
Learning from others’ mistakes
Rather than charging in convinced he can immediately topple Verstappen, Hadjar sees danger in that very assumption.
“I think they think the opposite [of me]. Everyone thinks they are special. Then you come in, you're like, ‘He's a human, I'm going to beat him.’ Then you get stomped over. And then the snowball effect starts,” he continued.
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“We're talking about the best driver on the grid. The chance that I'm slower at the start of the year is very high. I might as well accept it now and just work towards getting there.
“Of course, I'm hoping to be as fast as him. I'm hoping, but realistically, there's very few chances.”
It’s a sobering assessment – and a revealing one. Hadjar isn’t conceding defeat; he’s choosing a longer fight. By admitting his vulnerability now, he hopes to build the resilience necessary to eventually bridge the gap.
In a team shaped around Verstappen’s relentless adaptability, the newest Red Bull driver knows the real battle may not be against his teammate, but against frustration itself.
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