Hadjar A Candidate To Replace Tsunoda

Isack Hadjar is fast becoming a candidate to line up as Max Verstappen’s next teammate.

That’s the view of Red Bull’s powerful advisor Dr Helmut Marko, who has been singing the praises of the 20-year-old French-Algerian throughout his rookie season at Racing Bulls so far.

At the same time, while Marko admits that Yuki Tsunoda is closer to Verstappen than Liam Lawson or Sergio Perez managed in the last 12 months, the 82-year-old is beginning to point out Tsunoda’s mistakes.

“Yuki is a headstrong type, and emotional as well,” Marko told sport.de. “He just can’t make any mistakes, that’s the most important thing.”

Indeed, after Tsunoda’s spectacular rollover crash at Imola, the Japanese no longer has the same specification of 2025 car as the one in Verstappen’s hands.

Hadjar, however, is also making mistakes – two hefty whacks of the barriers on Friday at Monaco alone. He was visibly furious after one hit, repeatedly calling himself “stupid” afterwards.

“The barriers were too close for him,” laughed Marko.

“He should focus on racing rather than making these comments about his intelligence, but it wasn’t because of the speed. He did hit the wall twice, but he was fast.”

Marko is more willing to forgive rookie Hadjar’s mistakes compared to Tsunoda, who is contesting his contesting his fifth consecutive F1 season in 2025.

As for Hadjar, Marko admitted: “He is definitely a big surprise.

“He was fast from the start, except for his mistake in Melbourne. Just like Max, he is already on top of things after three laps, even if he doesn’t know many circuits.

“He is in Q3 every time, scores in the points every time,” the Austrian added. “He is inconspicuous, unspectacular, but lightning fast.

“With a bit more experience, he can definitely become a candidate,” Marko said, referring to the seat at Red Bull Racing currently occupied by Tsunoda.