Isack Hadjar has insisted that he “didn’t sign anything” yet amid reports that he could step up to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen for the 2026 season.
The Formula 1 rookie has impressed during his maiden season with Racing Bulls, despite a disappointing start after crashing out on his Grand Prix debut during the formation lap in the wet in Australia.
Since then, the 20-year-old has shown flashes of speed for Red Bull’s sister squad and secured seven points-scoring finishes, the highlight of which came when he finished third in the Dutch Grand Prix last month.
With Yuki Tsunoda currently unable to deliver consistent point-scoring finishes at Red Bull, speculation has continued to grow that Hadjar will be brought in for 2026 given the French driver’s impressive results.
However, ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, the rookie confirmed that he didn’t know where he would be driving next season and that he “couldn’t care less” about the rumours.
“Yeah, I did, and I think it’s very funny,” he said when asked about the reports. Pushed on why he found them funny, he responded: “Because I didn’t sign anything.”
Hadjar was then asked where he would rather drive next year, with the 20-year-old adding: “The goal has always been to be a Red Bull driver since I signed with Red Bull, with the Red Bull Junior Team, so I think it is quite clear.
“It [driver decisions] has always been decided, at least for me, at the very end of the season. I think it makes sense, because there are eight races to go, so I need to keep pushing.”
Recently promoted Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies confirmed ahead of the Italian Grand Prix that no mid-season swap would take place, with Tsunoda having already been brought into the senior team at the expense of Liam Lawson earlier this year.
The New Zealand driver made only two appearances for Red Bull before being dropped and placed back at Racing Bulls, and ahead of the race in Baku, he was asked what advice he would give Hadjar if a potential move went ahead.
“For me it’s hard I guess to look back on and have a proper comparison, just because it was just the two races,” said Lawson on Thursday in the Drivers’ Press Conference.
“I prepared, I tried to do everything I could. Obviously we can always do things better but I would honestly just say ignore everything that’s being said.
“At the end of the day, we’re all racing drivers, we all have to have enough self-confidence to be in the sport in the first place. We don’t come here thinking that other people are better than us, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. So I think to just have faith in yourself.
“He’s done a good job this year and I think he needs to just focus on the job and focus on preparing the best he can. Not listening to everything that’s said about what it’s going to be like because, at the end of the day, nobody actually knows. Only the guys that have done it [know].”
