Hadjar secures Red Bull future amid Verstappen uncertainty

Isack Hadjar's Spa heroics — including a timely slipstream for Max Verstappen — have Red Bull convinced his seat is safe well before serious 2027 contract talks even begin.

Isack Hadjar now appears increasingly certain to remain at Red Bull in 2027, even as speculation continues to dominate the future of teammate Max Verstappen.

Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies at Spa praised Hadjar's professionalism and development in an interview with Bild, and the French driver followed that with what countryman Mekies regarded as his strongest race for the senior team on Sunday.

"The car was definitely capable of fighting for P2 and P3," Mekies said. "Isack's pace confirms that.

"That was obviously a huge factor for us this year, that the second car is also stronger."

"It's important to have two strong drivers, and we now have that."

Former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock believes Hadjar has become one of the standout performers of the 2026 season.

"He's one of the men of the year for me," the Sky Deutschland pundit said.

"Looking back, everyone despaired of Max Verstappen. And he stands there and says, 'No, I'm taking on the challenge and I'm going to succeed.'"

"He shows that more and more each weekend. He's sometimes on par with Max Verstappen, and his race pace was outstanding."

"An absolutely top weekend for him."

Hadjar's slipstream assist at Spa

Hadjar also played an important supporting role during qualifying at Spa, providing Verstappen with two slipstreams that helped the Dutchman secure P2 on the grid.

Viaplay pundit Tom Coronel believes the cooperation could benefit Hadjar later.

"With such a move by Hadjar it's a case of 'if you give, you get'," he said.

"You create a lot of goodwill and credit."

Coronel is not yet convinced Hadjar will become a race winner or world champion, but says the opportunity to learn alongside Verstappen should not be underestimated.

"Watch out, but not yet," he said.

"The best thing is to be the teammate of the fastest there is. He's Max's teammate and you can learn a lot from that."

Isack Hadjar snapshot

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Related: Mekies: Red Bull can only silence Verstappen talk with pace

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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