Isack Hadjar: From Paris Karting to the Red Bull Formula One Seat

Isack Hadjar is a French and Algerian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. He was runner-up in the 2024 Formula 2 championship, finished on the podium at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix in his first full Formula One season, and joined the senior Red Bull team in 2026. This profile follows his path from karting in Paris to the Red Bull seat.

Who is Isack Hadjar?

Born on 28 September 2004 in Paris, Isack Alexandre Hadjar races under the French flag. He drives for Red Bull Racing in Formula One after several seasons in the Red Bull junior programme. He has raced under the French flag throughout his Formula One career. He holds dual French and Algerian citizenship, reflecting his family's Algerian origins.

His family is of Algerian origin and includes physicians and physicists. His father, Yassine, works in quantum mechanics research and was also his kart mechanic.

Hadjar is named after the physicist Isaac Newton, a name that fits a family with a strong scientific background.

A Formula 2 runner-up who was thrown into Racing Bulls, earned a podium at Zandvoort and then took a Red Bull seat.

How did Hadjar's early life lead to motorsport?

Hadjar first became interested in motorsport after watching the Pixar film Cars. He had also started watching Formula One on television, and a year later his parents bought him a go-kart when he was seven.

He competed in boxing and judo at a young age, but karting soon became the main focus of his childhood. His father, a physicist, also worked as his kart mechanic in those early years.

He began competitive karting in 2012 and moved onto the international scene in 2017. In 2018 he finished 22nd at the Karting World Championship.

How did Hadjar climb through French F4 and the UAE series?

Hadjar made his single-seater debut in 2019 in the French F4 Championship. He won his first single-seater race at Spa, and by the end of that season he had finished seventh overall and second in the junior class.

Three retirements in the final rounds of 2019 cost him points, though he still scored a useful haul.

In the 2020 UAE series he raced with 3Y Technology and finished eleventh overall. Back in the French championship he went on to finish third overall with 233 points and three wins.

His 2020 French F4 season was the strongest of his early career. He scored a podium on his debut, and at the penultimate round at Paul Ricard he took pole position and won the race.

He added a further win at the third Paul Ricard round and finished the season with eight more podiums and two poles across the year.

He was the highest-placed French driver in that 2020 French F4 standings, a result that confirmed his progress in single-seaters before he moved up to Formula Regional.

What did Hadjar achieve in Formula Regional in 2021 and 2022?

In 2021 Hadjar made his Formula Regional debut in the F3 Asian Championship with Evans GP and finished sixth overall. His main campaign was the Formula Regional European Championship with R-ace GP, where he finished fifth overall.

He scored his first points and his first rookie win at Imola. At Monaco he won the first race from pole position, which gave him his first Formula Regional victory.

At Monza he finished on the podium in both races of the weekend, and he won the second race after the two leading drivers collided. He ended the season fifth overall, four points behind his team-mate Zane Maloney.

That season brought him the best rookie title in the championship, and it set him up for a step into FIA Formula 3.

In 2022 he moved to the Formula Regional Asian Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. He finished third overall, with wins at Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

How did Hadjar fare in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 season?

In 2022 Hadjar drove for Hitech in the FIA Formula 3 Championship and finished fourth overall with 123 points, three wins, one pole and five podiums. He started the year by inheriting victory in the Sakhir sprint race after a penalty for Oliver Bearman.

He won the rain-affected feature race at Spielberg from pole position. He had a clear path to the feature win that weekend.

He could not carry that momentum to the title. Fourth place was his final standing, and it set the stage for his move into Formula 2 the following year.

What happened in Hadjar's 2023 Formula 2 rookie season?

In 2023 Hadjar joined Hitech for the Formula 2 season alongside his fellow Red Bull junior Jak Crawford. He finished 14th overall with 55 points,.

His Zandvoort sprint race ended in a multi-car accident that brought the race to a halt. Hadjar was awarded the victory, but no points were given for that sprint.

At Monza he qualified fourth but scored no points in the races. He closed the season at Yas Marina.

Hadjar also returned to the Macau Grand Prix in 2023. He qualified fourth for the qualification race, finished ninth in it, and then took seventh in the main race.

Why was the 2024 Formula 2 title so close?

Hadjar switched to Campos Racing for 2024, teaming up with fellow Red Bull junior Pepe Marti. His first Formula 2 win came at Melbourne, although a ten-second penalty later demoted him in the classification.

At Imola he took a second feature win after a slow pit stop for Oliver Bearman. At Silverstone he took his first Formula 2 pole and won the feature race after Jak Crawford was penalised, which moved him to the top of the standings.

At Austria he finished third in the feature race after a battle with Marti. At Qatar he was promoted to second after Gabriel Bortoleto received a penalty.

By the summer break he had a 36-point lead in the championship. He lost the title to Gabriel Bortoleto in the final round, and he finished as runner-up with four wins, eight podiums, one pole, one fastest lap and 192 points. Marti finished on 62 points.

The French press had already described him as le Petit Prost after the Melbourne win, and Le Parisien led the way with the nickname. That label reflected the comparison with the former Formula One champion Alain Prost, whose name is widely known in France.

How did Hadjar get into Formula One practice?

In June 2021 Red Bull announced that Hadjar would join its junior team from 2022. His first Formula One weekend came at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, where he made a free practice debut with AlphaTauri.

He ended that session 17th. He later drove for Red Bull in the Abu Dhabi practice, and again finished 17th.

In 2024 he took part in free practice at the British Grand Prix for Red Bull and finished 19th. In September that year he was promoted to the reserve role for both Red Bull and the rebranded Racing Bulls.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2024 he drove Max Verstappen's RB20 in free practice and finished 15th.

How did Hadjar's 2025 Racing Bulls season go?

Hadjar made his Formula One race debut for Racing Bulls at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, where he qualified 11th. He crashed on the formation lap and did not start the race, which was a difficult opening weekend.

At China he finished 13th in the sprint and 11th in the race. His first points came in Japan, where he finished eighth. He partnered Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls for much of the year, and across the season he finished 12th in the championship with 51 points.

The high point came at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, where he finished third for his first Formula One podium. The result placed him fifth among the youngest podium finishers in Formula One, and it made him the first Arab driver to reach the podium.

The season also included a power unit change at the Italian Grand Prix that forced a pit lane start. From there he climbed to tenth.

How did his results progress from one series to the next?

Hadjar's results rose steadily as he moved up the ladder. He was seventh overall in French F4 in 2019, fourth in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022 and runner-up in Formula 2 in 2024.

Each step brought more demanding competition, and his points tally grew with it. His 2023 Formula 2 rookie season produced 55 points, and his 2024 season produced 192.

The jump from Formula 2 to Formula One came after the 2024 season, when he was promoted to a reserve role for Red Bull and Racing Bulls in September.

What did the 2025 season add to his record?

The 51 points Hadjar scored in 2025 gave him 12th place in the championship, which was his first full Formula One season. The season also included the Dutch Grand Prix podium and a pit lane recovery at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Australian weekend, in which he crashed on the formation lap, was the low point, while the Dutch podium became the high point that defined the year.

What has Hadjar done since joining Red Bull?

In December 2025 it was announced that Hadjar would replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull for 2026. His first race for the team came in Australia, where he qualified third before an engine failure ended his race.

At Miami he was disqualified from ninth on the grid and crashed out of the race. Monaco was better, with a fourth-place finish on the road that was later promoted to third.

A wrist injury during the summer break forced him to miss three races, and Liam Lawson replaced him at Red Bull. He returned at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and finished third.

Red Bull announced on the same weekend that Hadjar would continue with the team for 2027.

Championship record at a glance

What comes next for Hadjar?

Hadjar is under contract with Red Bull for 2027, and the team has built his career around the junior programme that launched him. His record already includes a Formula One podium, a Formula 2 runner-up finish and a Formula 3 season that ended fourth overall.

His podium at the Dutch Grand Prix made him the first Arab driver to finish on a Formula One podium,.