Lewis Hamilton fears for Isack Hadjar in Red Bull’s “difficult” environment

Lewis Hamilton has expressed concern over Isack Hadjar’s F1 future following the announcement of his promotion to Red Bull.

On Tuesday, Red Bull confirmed Hadjar as Max Verstappen’s teammate for the 2026 F1 season.

Hadjar has impressed during his rookie campaign, taking his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Frenchman also has the best average qualifying result outside of the top four teams, earning him a deserved step up to Red Bull.

However, his task is substantial as he prepares to go up against Verstappen in 2026. 

Every driver who has partnered Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo’s exit in 2018 has struggled - and ultimately been dropped due to underperformance.

Hadjar, a known Hamilton fan who was consoled by Anthony Hamilton after his formation-lap crash in Australia, is confident he can adapt to Red Bull given the major regulation changes for 2026.

But speaking on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton admitted he is worried about the “quite difficult” Red Bull environment.

“I only found out about it today,” he said. “I’m not going to lie that it doesn’t worry me.

“I think he’s done an amazing job this year and he’s still very, very young, he’s still learning a lot about himself and his surroundings. But he’s done a phenomenal job this year and he’s got a great approach.

“We all know what happens when people go to Red Bull and the environment that you’re thrown into. Obviously I’ve not been there so I can’t tell from experience but looking from the outside it’s obviously quite difficult and where he is [at Racing Bulls], he’s got, it seems, a really good environment.”

Tsunoda loses his place on the F1 grid

Hadjar’s promotion means Yuki Tsunoda has lost his race seat for next year.

Tsunoda has been ever-present since 2021, earning his stripes with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls).

The Japanese driver was initially overlooked by Red Bull as they opted to promote Liam Lawson instead.

Tsunoda was handed his Red Bull chance after just two races in 2025 but, like Lawson, has generally struggled.

Reflecting on Tsunoda’s demotion to reserve driver, Hamilton added: “Yuki is an amazing driver but every driver that goes there has this general experience,” he said.

“But it doesn’t mean those drivers aren’t great, it’s clearly something else.

“So I just hope that there are changes made that provide him with the right support.”