Isack Hadjar confirms 2026 F1 destiny amid 'annoying' attention over Red Bull promotion

Isack Hadjar has admitted he "knows" he will continue to race in Formula 1 next year. He made the admission as he declared himself irritated about the constant speculation over his impending promotion to the main Red Bull team, with the Frenchman set to become the next team-mate to Max Verstappen.

Hadjar has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign, the highlight of which was a superb drive to the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Even before that eye-catching result, there were strong suggestions that he was being lined up as the next man to try not to wilt next to Verstappen in the senior Red Bull outfit.

That podium only bolstered his chances to the point it is now understood that Red Bull are, internally at least, already decided on promoting Hadjar next term. While he was not in a position to say that himself, the 21-year-old did tell reporters at the Mexico City Grand Prix that he knows he will get a new contract one way or another.

He said: "I'd like to know at the end of the year, because it's more annoying than anything, the noise. So, five races to keep pushing. Twelve months ago, it was a bit unsure, that's true. I had an idea, but it's true that this year, I'm in a better position. I know I'm in Formula 1 next year. Last year, I didn't know what I was doing. So yeah, I'm a lot less panicked."

Verstappen has had two different team-mates in 2025. Liam Lawson lasted for only two rounds before he swapped places with Yuki Tsunoda as Red Bull turned to a more experienced hand to try to get more out of their second car. But the Japanese has also struggled and both are now fighting for their F1 futures.

With Hadjar set for promotion and Arvid Lindblad likely to be bumped up from Formula 2 to race for junior squad Racing Bulls, Lawson and Tsunoda are both fighting for the one seat still available. This is Tsunoda's fifth F1 season and could well be his last, though Hadjar has dismissed the idea of being called up to replace the Japanese before the end of the current campaign.

He said: "It's so unlikely, man. That would mean I would have just two more races with the team, and that's just not going to happen. I'm also very happy with the team I am with right now. For them, I also need to bring P6 [in the constructors' championship] home."

Tsunoda did finish seventh last time out in Austin and is keen to build on that and do what he can to help Verstappen in his drivers' title push in these final weeks of the season. He said: "I can help in a lot of areas. I have different set-ups, but we're still challenging to discover a lot of new set-ups to maximise with the current package. That's what we are doing very well, I think, so far this year.

"Position-wise, being as high as possible will create more opportunities to play around with the strategy to help favour the team, depending on the situation, to help Max get into P1 or make our competitors' lives a lot more difficult. I think that's kind of the role I understand.

"I'm not fighting for a championship - my team-mate is. But also to do that, obviously, you have to be consistently performing well as I did in Austin, especially in the race. That's what I have to do more of in the short run.