F2 Sensation Isack Hadjar Takes Over Reserve Driver Duties as Liam Lawson Vacates Role After Promotion

F2 Sensation Isack Hadjar Takes Over Reserve Driver Duties as Liam Lawson Vacates Role After Promotion

After RB announced that Liam Lawson will be replacing Daniel Ricciardo at the team from the 2024 US GP onwards, the reserve driver role for the two Red Bull-backed F1 teams had opened up. Now, it is being reported that the spot has been filled by their F2 prodigy, Isack Hadjar.

Before his promotion to F1, Lawson was the reserve driver for RB as well as Red Bull Racing. Sky Sports has reported that the team will promote Hadjar to that spot instead. And it couldn’t have been timed better with the French-Algerian driver celebrating his 20th birthday today.

Hadjar himself has enjoyed a breakthrough season in F2 this year. The 20-year-old is currently locked in battle with Brazilian, Gabriel Bortoleto for the title. Hadjar currently sits second in the driver’s standings with 165 points to his name. On the other hand, Bortoleto has a four-and-a-half point advantage with two more rounds to go.

Hadjar is yet to win an open-wheel racing series but has enjoyed much success otherwise. He finished the 2020 French F4 season in third and the 2022 FRECA season in third as well. His stint in F2 with Campos sees him the closest he’s ever been to winning an FIA-sanctioned competition. He’s won four races this season at Melbourne, Imola, Silverstone, and Spa-Francorchamps.

In terms of F1 machinery, the 20-year-old has considerable time behind the wheel. In 2023, Hadjar drove in FP1 for the Mexico City GP for AlphaTauri (now RB) and had a test for the Bulls in Abu Dhabi. This year, he was strapped behind the wheel of the RB20 during FP1 for the British GP.

Post Edited By: Aishwary Gaonkar
Daniel Ricciardo Isack Hadjar Liam Lawson RB Red Bull

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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