Hadjar still eyeing Red Bull seat despite Tsunoda uncertainty: “Have a look for myself”

Speaking ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend, Isack Hadjar has confirmed that, despite the issues the team is seeing, he is still targeting a promotion to Red Bull. This comes as questions surrounding the future of Yuki Tsunoda continue following his poor performance at the Milton Keynes team.

The French-Algerian rookie sits 11th in the drivers’ standings, ahead of team-mate Liam Lawson, who sits 15th, and Tsunoda in 17th. 

“I don’t know what’s going on over there, obviously, but the only thing I can tell is that Yuki is very fast,” he said on the Japanese driver’s performance behind the wheel of the RB21. 

Red Bull has struggled with its machinery this season, with the car exhibiting a narrow operating window. Even Max Verstappen is finding it a difficult beast to tame, with him no longer showing the same dominance he had over the last few years. The team has since slipped to fourth in the constructors’ standings.

This, of course, hasn’t been helped by Tsunoda’s lack of performance, with the driver excelling in Racing Bulls but failing to deliver under the eye of Christian Horner. 

“It’s not like the car is bad, but especially the first few laps, it feels amazing,” Tsunoda said following the Austrian Grand Prix. “The thing is, I feel like the tyre is just melting lap by lap, corner by corner. Whatever I do, it’s melting every lap, and I’m feeling less grip lap by lap.”

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

Despite this, Hadjar’s ambitions still lie in securing a seat in the top team. 

“When I signed the contract with Red Bull four years ago, the goal was to get to Red Bull, so it hasn’t changed,” he confirmed before adding he’d be interested in deciphering the car. “It’s definitely interesting. I would obviously love to, out of curiosity, go and have a look for myself.” 

This isn’t currently on the cards for Hadjar, however. 

Despite outperforming Tsunoda in the standings and being one of the most consistent rookies on the grid, Hadjar is keen on remaining patient.

“At the moment, I’m not doing… It’s not like I’m in total control; I’m scoring points every weekend. There’s still a lot to learn, so it makes more sense to stay where I’m at at the moment.”

The 20-year-old also sees driving alongside Verstappen as a daunting prospect, something Helmut Marko describes as the “Verstappen effect”.

“That means you would start the weekend on the back foot all the time. He gets in the rhythm. He’s very explosive. He gets in the rhythm very fast. You always have to make up lap time and try to get there,” Hadjar explained before being asked about his readiness:

“Mentally, yes. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s this. The only thing is, do I have the skills? Mentally, I know I’m strong, so I’m not very worried about that.

“Do I have Verstappen’s skills? I don’t know. I don’t know yet. That’s the thing.”