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A grand prix weekend is a busy affair for everyone involved but on Friday, French-Algerian driver Isack Hadjar was arguably the busiest man at Yas Marina Circuit.
Juggling his roles as a Formula 2 title contender with Campos Racing and a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1, the 20-year-old Hadjar spent the day getting shuttled back and forth from one paddock to the other.
In F2, Hadjar started the weekend just 0.5 points behind championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, and topped the timesheets in Friday morning’s free practice.
He then made his way to the F1 paddock to fill in for Max Verstappen and drove the four-time world champion’s RB20 in the opening free practice session of the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He completed 22 laps for Red Bull and finished the session in 15th place.
Just 15 minutes after completing FP1, Hadjar was back at the F2 paddock – on the opposite end of Yas Marina Circuit – suited up for Campos Racing and ready for qualifying.
He qualified for the final F2 feature race of the season in fourth, but has moved up to P3 due to a penalty handed to Paul Aron, who will start from the pit lane.
“It was really intense,” Hadjar told The National. “You are really a passenger, because you have no time for yourself to reset. So you’re just following the plan. It’s really tiring, exhausting, but it’s what I love to do, it’s to drive, and driving the whole day was really good.
“I had to go through F1 paddock, F2 paddock, F1 paddock. Even on Thursday, I’ve never had this amount of media, because when you’re driving Verstappen’s car and you’re fighting for the world title in F2, it gets really busy.”
Those aren’t the only reasons Hadjar has been getting extra attention in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The Red Bull junior driver is a hot candidate for an RB seat in F1 next season as one of Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda is expected to be promoted to Red Bull Racing, replacing Sergio Perez.
“We're fortunate that we've got a tremendous pool of talent. It was good to see Isack Hadjar getting a run out as well in free practice today,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters on Friday.
“We've got two talented drivers in VCARB. But until the situation is clear with Sergio and what he wants to do, everything else is purely speculation.”
Friday was Hadjar’s fourth time driving an F1 car at a grand prix weekend. He took part in two free practice sessions for RB and Red Bull in 2023, and drove Perez’s car for Red Bull at Silverstone this season.
He admits jumping back into an F2 car just a few minutes after being in an F1 vehicle is challenging, but one he has successfully navigated on multiple occasions now.
“They are worlds apart,” he told F1 TV of the difference between driving both cars. “When I went back to the F2 it felt super slow and everything comes at you slowly. But at the same time, it’s incredibly physical without power-steering so I had to get back to it and getting used to it was really tough. They are 15 seconds a lap slower. So it’s huge.”
Hadjar said he was pleased with his performance in Verstappen’s car on Friday.
“I got to drive the best car in the world,” he told The National. “I did many laps ... the programme was really intense. It gave me a really good taste of F1 and I’ll be back in the car on Tuesday [for the post-season test].
“Honestly, I was happy with myself. When I’m happy with myself, everyone is too. So all the engineers were fine with my performance and the feedback as well. So that was great.”
Hadjar was born in Paris and holds both French and Algerian citizenship. He does not hail from a motorsport family but his father Yassine used to watch F1 on TV and did some go-karting for fun.
“I was just a fan of speed and cars in general and I found myself in a go-kart at five years old,” Hadjar recalled.
“The first time I drove a go-kart, my dad was like, 'OK, this little guy is pretty much made for it' and he’s been my number one supporter since the first day.”
His father was his go-kart mechanic during his first few years before Hadjar began making his way up the junior racing categories.
He grew up idolising Ayrton Senna, “just the character himself and his story it really touched me,” he says, and is also a fan of Lewis Hamilton.
Hadjar went on holiday to Algeria every year until he was 13 and is planning a visit with his father there in the near future.
His parents, sister, and friends have all come to Abu Dhabi to watch him this weekend and he has been stunned by the amount of support he has received from the Algerian and Arab community at Yas Marina Circuit.
“It is huge, honestly,” he says with a big smile on his face. “It’s more than the support I receive anywhere else. We are really supportive with each other, whereas in Europe it’s a bit different – there’s a lot of critics and everything. Whereas here, Algerians are all supporting me and it’s great.”
In 2022, Hadjar joined Red Bull’s junior programme after making a good impression in the Formula Regional European Championship the previous season, scoring two race wins, one pole, and five podiums, to clinch P5 in the standings.
“They signed me in a moment in my career where I didn’t know where I was going really. So they gave me the most important thing, which is perspective – the route to Formula 1, F3, F2, F1,” said Hadjar.
He is now knocking on the door of F1 with official announcements expected to be made soon regarding the Perez's future. There is a great deal of noise surrounding Red Bull and RB’s lineups for 2025 and Hadjar is more than happy to know his name has been coming up a lot.
“I like it. I really like it,” he said. “I know what’s going on, I know what I’m doing. I can’t say anything but I can tell you I’m just focused on winning F2. That’s the only thing I can say,” he added, giving a strong indication that his F1 future is pretty much guaranteed.
Hadjar finished fifth in Saturday’s sprint race and now trails Bortoleto by 4.5 points in the championship. Sunday’s F2 feature race and title decider kicks off at 1.25pm.
“I feel really confident. I have a really good car this weekend and I’ll make the most of it,” he says. “I’m ready.”
