Isack Hadjar admiring before the mid-season: “I take Max as an example”

When Kimi Antonelli, author of the first podium of his career, and unanimously considered one of the great jewels of this new generation, states that Isack Hadjar has so far been the most consistent and impressive rookie of the year, the compliment tends to have its effect. In this case, although he still failed to score points after qualifying correctly (12th in qualifying – 9th on the starting grid), the Racing Bulls driver leaves an impression of confidence, of assurance, from the height of his relatively limited experience.

Spotted early by the academy Red Bull, and signed by the Austrians after his victory in Monaco when he played in FRECA, the Frenchman is now one step away from being part of the Red Bull adventure in Formula 1Logically, this does not appear as a short-term objective, but the support of Red Bull seems to mean a lot to someone whose career has not been as linear as his Italian counterpart, for example.

ALSO READ > Hadjar in no rush to join Red Bull: "I wouldn't feel ready"

Hadjar grateful to Red Bull and Marko

For the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Isack Hadjar looked back on his beginnings, as well as his particularly difficult first season in Formula 2Despite this apparent failure, the person concerned was able to react and remobilize subsequently. "I have an honest relationship with Helmut. He's the one who practically gave me a place in Formula 1, he admits. He gave me a chance, a path, a trajectory to F1. I'm grateful to him. I remember my first season in F2 was a kind of nightmare. And he continued to believe in me. He gave me a second chance. I took it and I delivered.

The target of high praise from the head of the Red Bull academy, Isack Hadjar knows he's being watched by management. Surprising, efficient, and a potential heir to a chaotic dynasty, Liam Lawson's current teammate is looking to the future, drawing inspiration from the best of the moment. "I take Max as an example. What's been quite impressive so far this season is that in qualifying, Q1, Q2, and even in the first attempt in Q3, you could tell he's not a pole position candidate at that point, He explains. Even with all the experience he has, all the talent he possesses, he manages to extract even more in this final attempt. He manages, which I find very impressive, under pressure, to put everything together and find an extra lap time."

Urged many times not to rush back to the mother team this season, the former Campos Formula 2 driver nevertheless continues to attract attention. Slightly lacking consistency as the season approaches midway through, the man who narrowly missed out on the F2 title last year is the second highest-ranked rookie behind the inevitable Kimi Antonelli. He is also the second Frenchman on the grid, only a single point behind Esteban Ocon, ninth.

ALSO READ > Canadian GP – Key figures from Antonelli's F1 podium