The objective of Red Bull’s junior team and academy, under the leadership of Helmut Marko, has always been to search for future world champions. The likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have lived up to that benchmark, winning multiple championships for the Austrian team. However, the recent crop of junior drivers has not shown as much promise for promotion to F1.
Yuki Tsunoda is the most recent Red Bull academy graduate to step up to Formula 1. However, there is another driver who is quickly catching Marko‘s attention – Isack Hadjar.
Hadjar is currently competing in Formula 2 alongside Pepe Marti for Campos Racing and is sitting second in the championship, just 2 points behind the championship leader, Paul Aron.
| Helmut Marko is happy with Isack Hadjar’s performance in F2.
The 19-year-old is 2nd in the Championship.https://t.co/I1ffj4K1U7
— formularacers (@formularacers_) June 16, 2024
The French-Algerian driver has left Marko mightily impressed with his performances so far, who thinks that his driver would have been leading the championship if not for a lot of bad luck.
“There were two retirements due to a fuel problem, which Dallara had to take on himself. In two other races, he was taken out by opponents. So we are talking about four retirements through no fault of his own, but he is still second in the standings,” the Austrian wrote in his column on Speedweek.
One of the bigger highlights is how he managed to avoid a crash in the Monaco tunnel, showing his lightning-fast reflexes. “Hadjar is in good form and is fulfilling our expectations,” Marko concluded.
An unbelievable show of lightning-quick reflex and skill in the Monaco tunnel from F2 pilot Isack Hadjar.pic.twitter.com/QVbYVSJ6qR
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 25, 2024
However, Isack Hadjar isn’t the only driver on Red Bull’s watchlist as a potential candidate for the future. Liam Lawson has already staked a claim on being the first in line to get an F1 seat, after his promising stand-in appearances for V-CARB in 2023.
Red Bull have plenty of options for its future at V-CARB
Besides Hadjar, other Red Bull academy drivers like Ayuma Iwasa, competing in Super Formula, Arvid Lindblad, and Oliver Goethe, competing in Formula 3 are a few others who can become F1 drivers to watch out for in the future.
However, at the moment, there isn’t much opportunity available within the Red Bull stable. With Max Verstappen locked in till the end of 2028, and Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda getting their contract extensions, there is currently only one seat available at V-CARB, which Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo are contesting.
Ricciardo has always been close with Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, and reports are suggesting that he is more than likely to retain his seat at V-CARB despite having had an underwhelming season so far. However, Red Bull also runs the risk of losing Lawson, if they keep him waiting too long.
With Lawson and Hadjar in the pipeline, the Austrian team has a problem of plenty for the future. As Helmut Marko has handled their academy graduates and picked the best of the best over the years, Red Bull would trust him again to take the right call going forward too.
