Isack Hadjar advised to steer clear of second Red Bull F1 seat
Isack Hadjar has taken F1 by storm in his rookie season, but would a move up to Red Bull be a wise step at this stage?
Former Mercedes ace Nico Rosberg believes Isack Hadjar should resist any temptation to join Red Bull Racing, despite his impressive start to life in Formula 1.
Hadjar has emerged as one of the standout performers of the 2025 season so far, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailing him as the best of the six rookies on the current grid.
The French-Algerian driver has finished inside the points in six out of nine races so far, achieving a best result of sixth in the Monaco GP.
This has led to speculation over Hadjar possibly being considered for a promotion to Red Bull, with the Milton Keynes squad still struggling to find a teammate who can match the performance of Max Verstappen.
While Yuki Tsunoda, the current occupant of the second Red Bull, has shown flashes of pace, he has been comprehensively outshone by Hadjar this year in what is technically a weaker car.
However, 2016 F1 champion Rosberg feels it would be a mistake for Hadjar to accept any offer from Red Bull at this stage, and that staying put may be the smarter option.
"If I was Hadjar, if ever the team started to mention [the possibility of a promotion to Red Bull], I would literally decline, decline as hard as you possibly can," Rosberg told Sky TV.
"He's doing such a great job with Racing Bulls. He's in a great position. Just flat decline and say, 'No way!'."
Sky F1 analyst Karun Chandhok also echoed Rosberg’s sentiment, saying Hadjar would be better off looking outside the Red Bull camp to get hold of a frontrunning seat.
"If I was Hadjar I'd be trying to hang on to the Racing Bulls seat, then try and get myself a deal at Ferrari or Aston Martin for example,” he said.
Sky commentator David Croft, however, believes Hadjar is exactly the kind of driver who can tame the RB21, which is widely understood to have been specifically built around Verstappen’s driving style.
The four-time F1 champion prefers to have a pointy front-end, which often leaves the rear of the car too loose for other drivers occupying the second Red Bull seat.
"There is one driver who Racing Bulls think has a very similar style to Max Verstappen. I don't think he's ready yet. But is Isaac Hadjar the answer to their problems?" he questioned.
"If Hadjar is the closest thing to Max Verstappen, then he has the easier task of adapting to that car, which has been designed and developed more to Max's liking.
"Red Bull say because Sergio Perez was a bit reluctant in coming forward to give feedback last year, so therefore, the feedback was all Max's, therefore, the car kind of went in a Max direction."
