Red Bull F1 star must EXIT team to save career

Red Bull

Red Bull star must EXIT team to save F1 career

The F1 championship winning team are now a poisoned chalice

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 9 June 2025 12:57

Run Isack Hadjar! Run! Get away from Red Bull before it's too late!

Hadjar has quickly made a name for himself as the best F1 rookie in 2025, not only securing a large bulk of points for Racing Bulls, but also adapting quickly and maturely to costly crashes.

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His ability has earned him praise from F1 champions such as Damon Hill and Nico Rosberg; but as the plaudits roll in so too do the inevitable calls for Hadjar’s Red Bull promotion.

The Frenchman now sits above Yuki Tsunoda in the drivers’ standings, and has secured more points for Racing Bulls than Tsunoda has at Red Bull, which naturally makes Hadjar the perfect candidate to replace the 25-year-old.

Hadjar should not replace Tsunoda however. In fact, Red Bull need to learn from their previous mistakes if they are considering a driver change.

Most importantly of all though, Hadjar needs to understand the horror show Tsunoda’s career has become before accepting any kind of Red Bull promotion.

Hadjar must not go to Red Bull

It was only a few months ago that the F1 world was lavishing Tsunoda with praise, incredulous that he had been passed over for the Red Bull promotion.

Now, the Japanese star is in no man’s land. He is unable to consistently score points, Q3 is nothing but a distant dream, and Tsunoda has been blighted by the curse of the second Red Bull seat.

What on earth has happened then?

Well, Tsunoda hasn’t suddenly stopped being a consistent points scorer or a good driver, and clearly lacks experience in the temperamental RB21.

"With a new car, it’s just hard to know exactly how the car is going to behave. In those things it comes down to experience," Tsunoda said to the media at the Spanish GP.

"And obviously, last four years with VCARB, I knew exactly what’s going to happen, so I didn’t really have to even think about those things. I would naturally react and drive fast. So I think those things will come."

As Helmut Marko grows increasingly impatient, Tsunoda may not be given the chance to fully adapt to the Red Bull, particularly with Hadjar shining brighter than ever before.

However, Red Bull cannot keep sticking a bandage over their second driver problem, hoping that their cannon fodder of young talent will one day eventually solve their issues.

The fact of the matter is Red Bull have a terrible car that even Max Verstappen is starting to struggle to drive, and Hadjar - as good as he is - will not be able to perform miracles either.

If Hadjar accepts the Red Bull promotion, the hype around the youngster will be swiftly abandoned and his name besmirched.

There is also slim chance of him fighting for a podium let alone a race win in 2025, and would be better waiting to see who the title contenders are after the regulation changes in 2026.

My advice to Hadjar? Keep impressing the F1 paddock at Racing Bulls and then leave Red Bull entirely. Much like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon who have all continued to thrive outside of the bizarre Red Bull driver ecosystem.

Bide your time. Resist the temptation of a Red Bull promotion and save your F1 career! Alpine is having a second driver problem, why not start by taking a look there?

Red Bull Max Verstappen Yuki Tsunoda Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls Nico Rosberg