The Austrian manager wanted to highlight the positive impact of the Frenchman in Formula 1. Could he be the future of Red Bull?
Isack Hadjar finished the Jeddah Grand Prix in tenth place, marking the second top-ten finish of his Formula 1 career. The young French rookie delivered a very solid race, with a good start on Hard tyres and an excellent second stint on Mediums, which brought him right up behind the two Williams cars — despite them having started significantly further ahead.
Hadjar’s excellent performances, both in qualifying and in the race, have caught the attention of many in the paddock. And to think that the young French driver’s Formula 1 career began with a dramatic spin during the formation lap in Melbourne, followed by tears as soon as he returned to the paddock.
That very reaction had been criticized by Red Bull executive Helmut Marko, who described it as “embarrassing.”
Helmut Marko praises Isack Hadjar: the words of the Red Bull advisor
Despite the challenging start, Hadjar has managed to regain trust — especially that of the Austrian executive, who, according to the German outlet Sportweek, even praised him following his strong performance in Jeddah:
“From my point of view, Hadjar is the revelation of this first part of the championship. The young Parisian was unfamiliar with most of the tracks, but he was immediately quick and made very few mistakes — apart from the slip-up in Australia.”
“Isack manages something that challenges many Formula 1 rookies — he consistently sets good lap times during the race, handling the tyres very well. And he does it with remarkable calmness”, Marko concluded, highlighting especially his race management.
The Austrian manager also praised Max Verstappen’s new teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, after Red Bull managed to bring both cars into the points in Bahrain for the first time since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix: “After his first three weekends with Red Bull, the speed is there, as is the approach.”
“However, when it gets serious in qualifying, he loses time compared to Max, but the gap is usually within two or three tenths. Tsunoda is following his own path.”
“An incident like the one with Gasly on the first lap of the Saudi Arabian GP can happen, according to our calculations, he could have finished sixth. And it’s a huge step forward, considering that in the past our second car rarely came close to the top ten.” , Marko concluded.
PHOTO: Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, Oracle Red Bull Racing.
