Marko suggests Hadjar for a position at Red Bull alongside Verstappen.

      "The speed was always present."

      Isack Hadjar appears increasingly likely to join Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026. The 20-year-old French rookie impressed everyone with his podium finish at Zandvoort in the junior Racing Bulls car, making him the youngest driver from France to reach a Formula 1 podium while Yuki Tsunoda continues to face challenges with the senior team. Dr. Helmut Marko, who has consistently praised Hadjar, stated that the result was expected.

      "Not really surprising," he commented to Osterreich newspaper, "if you’ve followed Hadjar’s journey into Formula 1 and how well he’s done." Marko then challenged his interviewer for previously praising 19-year-old Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. "You echoed Toto Wolff, who said what a great driver Kimi Antonelli is," Marko retorted.

      When the journalist defended Antonelli’s superior junior record and preparation, Marko responded: "Sure, but with 10,000 km of practice in a two-year-old car, which Mercedes allowed him to use continuously. Before this season, Hadjar had maybe 500km in a Formula 1 car."

      Hadjar's early 2025 season was significantly less impressive, including a crash during the formation laps in Melbourne and breaking down in tears. "He was a bit overly dramatic," Marko recalled. "At the very least, he could have removed his helmet so everyone could see that he wasn’t truly crying. It’s true—those times were not always easy, but the speed was always there, and in the end, he brought it all together flawlessly."

      So, why wasn’t Hadjar chosen for the Red Bull seat earlier this year when Liam Lawson struggled after just two races? "Because he needs a certain level of experience," Marko explained. "In a top team, the pressure is much higher, as you can also see with Mercedes."

      Marko refrained from definitively confirming Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull, but his smile hinted at his thoughts. "We’ll see," he said. "We have until October to make that decision." Nevertheless, the Austrian advisor acknowledges Hadjar’s personality off the track makes him a strong candidate. "He’s a humorous person and very intelligent—his mother is the deputy HR director at a company with 4,000 employees, and his father is a nuclear physicist."

      Marko also mentioned that a reunion with team principal Laurent Mekies, Hadjar’s former boss at Racing Bulls, would be beneficial. "Mekies is an excellent engineer, which is a significant advantage given Formula 1's complexities today," said Marko. "He’s also great with people—the atmosphere is entirely different than it was before."

      And is Max Verstappen himself feeling more positive in this new era without Christian Horner? "It’s going very well," said a relieved Marko. "He has watched everything unfold over the past weeks and is convinced it’s moving in the right direction."