French rookie Isack Hadjar endured a miserable weekend at the Miami Grand Prix after confidently claiming his adaptation to life at Red Bull Racing had been “pretty easy” just days earlier.
Heading into the race weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, Hadjar spoke positively about his early experiences since stepping up from sister team Racing Bulls. The 21-year-old suggested that the transition had been smoother than many expected, largely because of his long-standing relationship with the Red Bull programme and familiarity with the team’s systems.
Hadjar explained that after spending several years within Red Bull’s junior structure, he already understood the environment and working methods. Previous FP1 appearances had also helped him settle in, meaning the move did not feel like entering a completely unfamiliar setup. According to the Frenchman, many elements — including the steering wheel and operational procedures — remained largely the same, helping him quickly feel at home inside the RB22.
The young driver’s confidence was understandable after an encouraging opening phase to the season. Across the first three rounds, Hadjar managed to out-qualify reigning world champion Max Verstappen on two occasions, an achievement few of Verstappen’s previous team-mates had managed. Although Verstappen’s Australian Grand Prix weekend was compromised by an early Q1 crash, Hadjar still impressed observers with his pace and composure.
More importantly for Red Bull, Hadjar appeared capable of staying closer to Verstappen’s level than several former team-mates who struggled under the pressure of driving alongside the Dutch superstar. The rookie repeatedly showed flashes of speed and confidence, raising hopes that Red Bull may finally have found a driver capable of consistently supporting Verstappen at the front.
Hadjar himself admitted that while the team was not yet where it wanted to be competitively, he felt comfortable extracting the maximum performance from the car. He insisted he had been delivering everything possible with the machinery available and believed his performances had reflected that.
However, the optimism surrounding his start to life at Red Bull quickly disappeared in Miami.
From the opening sessions, Hadjar struggled badly for pace around the demanding circuit. The gap to Verstappen became increasingly obvious throughout the weekend, culminating in a disappointing qualifying performance where he ended up around one second slower than his team-mate over a single lap.
While Verstappen appeared increasingly comfortable with Red Bull’s upgraded RB22 package, Hadjar failed to unlock similar performance from the car. The Dutchman was able to exploit the improvements introduced by the team, extracting competitive pace and once again demonstrating why he remains one of Formula 1’s benchmark drivers.
For Hadjar, though, the weekend only deteriorated further. Any hopes of salvaging points disappeared when he crashed out of the grand prix, bringing an early end to a race that had already proven extremely difficult. The incident capped off what was unquestionably his toughest outing since joining Red Bull.
The disappointing result left Hadjar with just four points from the opening four race weekends of the season, a tally that also includes two sprint events. Considering the promising signs shown earlier in the year, Miami represented a major setback for the highly-rated rookie.
The contrast between the two Red Bull drivers was particularly striking. Verstappen looked increasingly at ease with the upgraded car and managed to maximise its potential, while Hadjar appeared unable to adapt to the new characteristics of the RB22 throughout the weekend.
Despite the difficult Miami outing, Red Bull are unlikely to panic over one poor performance from their young driver. Hadjar has already demonstrated enough raw speed and potential during the opening rounds to justify the team’s faith in him. Nevertheless, the Miami Grand Prix served as a harsh reminder of just how challenging life alongside Verstappen can be, even for one of Formula 1’s brightest young talents.
