F1
Isack Hadjar replaces Liam Lawson as Red Bull reserve driver
Isack Hadjar, all smiles in the Red Bull garage. © Red Bull Content Pool
It is not only among the holders in F1 that the game of musical chairs can have an impact. By recovering the seat of Daniel Ricciardo at Racing Bulls from the United States Grand Prix on October 20, Liam Lawson will de facto abandon his missions as test and reserve driver for the two teams linked to Red Bull (Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls). The New Zealander will indeed be replaced in this role by the Frenchman Isack Hadjar.
A member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2022, the Parisian will indeed become the designated reserve player for both teams, the communications unit of the Milton Keynes team confirmed to us. It should be noted, however, that in the event of unavailability of Max Verstappen or Checo Perez in the Red Bull, Liam Lawson would have a good chance of moving up to the RB20, while the Tricolore would take his place in the Racing Bulls.
A just reward for the one who was still at the top of the Formula 2 at the last meeting in Baku, where brake problems prevented him from qualifying in the best conditions and led to him not taking any points from Azerbaijan. The Campos driver nevertheless benefits from the support of Red Bull and continues to be closely followed by Helmut Marko, and remains in the running for a seat at Faenza in 2025 or 2026. Note that he will obviously continue his F2 season with Campos in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
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Jeremy Satis
Deputy Digital Editor & F1 Reporter
Yves-Henri RANDIER
27/09/2024 at 06:22 a.m.
Logical promotion for Hadjar: if Lawson does better than Tsunoda at the end of this 2024 season, I would be willing to bet that the Kiwi will then be promoted to Red Bull in 2025 in place of TexMex, freeing up the second Ridiculous Bulls in 2025 for Hadjar because Marko wants to put him in F1!