George Russell didn’t have to look too far to make a strong pick for this year’s most surprising rookie. Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old prodigy, shares the same garage as him and has outperformed the other five rookies on the grid. Still, Russell decided to head a few doors over and pick Isack Hadjar.
The French-Algerian driver arguably received the least hype among his fellow newcomers, perhaps due to his limited exposure in the media. He finished P2 in Formula 2 last year, but that was it. Gabriel Bortoleto was the champion, and the Brazilian, now with Sauber, got the spotlight a lot more than Hadjar did. Other than that, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan, and Liam Lawson had all competed in F1 as stand-in drivers before, which meant fans were familiar with them.
Hadjar, on the other hand, is new. And he’s driving for Racing Bulls, which despite being Red Bull’s sister team, doesn’t quite have the same appeal. However, his performances, which have overall been fairly good, have somehow gone under the radar.
Russell was talking to Antonelli in a Mercedes segment when the topic of rookies came up. Both agreed that they’re all doing well, but Russell added, “Hadjar is the one who surprised me the most.”
Now, Hadjar’s F1 career went off to a shambolic start as he crashed on the formation lap of his debut race in Melbourne. He was devastated, and in tears. But since that, he’s bounced back to put in some strong performances for the Faenza-based outfit.
The Paris-born driver currently sits 16th in the Drivers’ Championship with just five points, though the mechanical package at his disposal must also be considered. Driving the V-CARB 02, he has secured two points finishes so far—P8 in Japan and P10 in Saudi Arabia.
Even Yuki Tsunoda, now promoted to Red Bull, was unable to score points in that car, nor could his new teammate, Liam Lawson, who joined from the Suzuka race onwards.
Isack Hadjar was surprised to score points in Saudi Arabia but left frustrated he couldn’t score higher
“I didn’t know points were possible on pure pace and actually, we managed to do it” #F1 #SaudiArabianGPhttps://t.co/wrGnapHRhR
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 22, 2025
These five points, while crucial for Racing Bulls, have largely gone unnoticed in the shadow of Antonelli, who has been regularly fighting at the sharp end of the grid. Although the Italian hasn’t reached the podium yet, he has finished in the top six in every race except Bahrain and currently sits sixth in the championship.
But it’s worth noting that Antonelli is already driving for a top team—and Hadjar isn’t.
That’s something the 20-year-old is eager to change. He has already admitted that if Tsunoda’s Red Bull stint doesn’t work out, he’d be more than happy to take his place. That said, Hadjar would ideally want to spend multiple seasons in F1 before he heads out into the high-pressure environment at Milton Keynes.
