Any time a driver struggles to perform in the second Red Bull car alongside four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen, there are going to be rumors.
And given Red Bull's history when it comes to moving on from underperforming drivers in that car, it's one of the rare instances in which such speculation is fully justified.
It took just two races for the team to send Liam Lawson, who replaced Sergio Perez after the 2024 season, despite the fact that Perez had been signed through 2026, back to sister team Racing Bulls. Instead, they placed Yuki Tsunoda, whom many thought should have been promoted as Perez's replacement to begin with, in the second car.
But Tsunoda has struggled, and that has led to further rumors that Isack Hadjar could be the man to join the 28-year-old Dutchman in 2026.
Isack Hadjar to Red Bull?
Hadjar is sitting in an impressive ninth place in the driver standings as a rookie, and he recently stood on the podium for the first time alongside Verstappen and McLaren world championship leader Oscar Piastri at Zandvoort.
Occasionally, we've seen over the years that the outside noise can mess with a driver's head. That is clearly not the case for Hadjar, who is continuing to improve amid rumors that he will be promoted to Red Bull next year, with some reports even suggesting that the deal is already done.
"When you are behind the wheel of an F1 car, there’s not much going on in your mind," Hadjar explained to Beyond the Flag about his approach.
In Hadjar's case, the rumors might actually be considered positive; nobody is calling for him to lose his ride like we so often see elsewhere. Still, he's not worried about any of the talk.
"Try not to [think about it] – try to just stay on track and be as fast as you can. I think that keeps you busy enough and keeps you away from the noise, just driving as fast as you can, and that's a good way of escaping, let's say."
Hadjar is satisfied with how his season has gone, especially after a rough start in Melbourne.
"I think just the overall package is better, just with more laps, more races, more experience," he said of his improvement. "That's about it."
He knows there is still work to be done, however, and he won't let those rumors detract from that.
"On every aspect," he said when asked where he can still get better. "I mean, no one is a perfect driver. You can't be a perfect driver. You can't be a 10 out of 10, but you can always be closer to it. So that's my approach."
Since former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies replaced Christian Horner as Red Bull's new team principal over the summer, leading to Alan Permane taking over at Racing Bulls, Hadjar says that things have been pretty seamless.
"Honestly, it’s been the same, because he was right under Laurent before he left," Hadjar explained. "So it's the same approach; it's not like we've changed the team principal to someone who’s not been in the team before. The environment is exactly the same, and that's why the team's performance has kept going up since summer."
He has two of the season's six remaining tracks circled as venues where he believes that he and his team can perform best at.
"I would say Austin, and I'm looking forward to Qatar," he said. "I think it's these two tracks where we're going to be cooking, if I'm being honest."
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