Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda talk together ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Red Bull star's Spanish GP result unveils huge problem for F1 team

Isack Hadjar has been in scintillating form

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 3 June 2025 11:57

Should Isack Hadjar be in a Red Bull car? And if he does get a promotion, who will his team-mate be?

Max Verstappen's frustrations at his team's lack of pace came to the fore at the Spanish Grand Prix, when he appeared to intentionally crash into Mercedes' George Russell, picking up a 10-second time penalty.

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That penalty demoted the Dutchman down to 10th having crossed the line in fifth, but he still picked up one more point than his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda has only scored seven points in seven grand prix weekends since being promoted up to the main team, and is performing only marginally better than Liam Lawson, who was sacked after just two races.

Isack Hadjar, on the other hand, has managed to pick up 21 points in 2025 so far, at the junior Red Bull team Racing Bulls.

In fact, Hadjar has outscored both Tsunoda and Verstappen put together at the last two grands prix, picking up 14 points while those two have a combined effort of just 13 points.

With Red Bull in danger of being rooted to fourth in the constructors' championship and not having Verstappen anywhere near winning the drivers' championship in 2025, the team may be under some pressure to act once more with their driver lineup.

Should Hadjar replace Tsunoda?

The statistics suggest that Hadjar would make a better partner for Verstappen than Tsunoda, but then Tsunoda did outperform his former rookie team-mate when the two of them were at Racing Bulls - albeit for just two races.

Red Bull's dismal last couple of weekends have made it a question once more, but Helmut Marko confirmed earlier in the season that Tsunoda would see out 2025 no matter how he performed, with Red Bull seemingly wanting stability.

The main seat alongside Verstappen has wrecked the confidence of several drivers in recent years, not least Lawson, who is now only just showing signs of his 2024 form having had a nightmare couple of weeks at Red Bull.

20-year-old Hadjar is flying, and surely Red Bull don't want to risk bringing him down too, with it looking likely that he will be a star for many years to come.

Tsunoda may be looking to leave the Red Bull family altogether ahead of 2026, so it would make sense to keep him in the temperamental RB21 car for the rest of this season, before giving Hadjar a go in what they will hope will be much more settled machinery in 2026.

Will Verstappen stay at Red Bull?

The big question is whether Red Bull will need both Tsunoda and Hadjar in their two racing seats in 2026.

Marko recently said that Verstappen's future was of 'great concern' to the team, while he also confirmed that Verstappen's current contract contains performance-based exit clauses.

Despite the Dutchman's contract running until the end of 2028 season, rumours have linked him with a move to both Mercedes and Aston Martin in recent months, while other personnel have suggested he could take a sabbatical from the sport.

If he were to leave abruptly due to the fact Red Bull have not offered him a car capable of winning the championship in 2025, Hadjar's importance to the wider Red Bull family will soar, remarkable for a young driver who has only competed in nine F1 races.

Red Bull Max Verstappen FIA George Russell Isack Hadjar Spanish Grand Prix