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Hadjar completes 2025 F1 line-up with RB promotion
Isack Hadjar has been confirmed as Liam Lawson’s replacement at RB for 2025, completing next season’s Formula 1 driver line-up.
Lawson was announced as moving up to Red Bull earlier this week, following the departure of Sergio Perez from the team. That decision opened up another seat at RB, where reserve driver and Formula 2 runner-up Hadjar will now race alongside Yuki Tsunoda. The RB seat had remained unconfirmed despite Lawson’s presence over the final six races of this season, but with Hadjar’s promotion all 20 slots are now set.
“I’m very excited to step into my new role at VCARB,” Hadjar said. “This is huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning. The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in Formula 1 is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream.
“I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team.
“I look forward to working with and learning from Yuki, I’ve always looked up to him, he went through the Red Bull Junior Program, like myself, and we’ve shared a similar path to F1. He’s very experienced and will be good to learn from.”
Team principal Laurent Mekies is dealing with a third new driver alongside Tsunoda in the last 12 months, but says the partnership of 20-year-old Hadjar and the more experienced Japanese driver offers a strong balance.
“We’re excited to have Isack with us next year, bringing a new and fresh dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025,” Mekies said. “His journey to Formula 1 has been nothing short of outstanding -- he has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks.
“He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact.
“I believe Isack and Yuki will make a great team. Yuki brings invaluable experience to the team, he’s shown incredible resilience and maturity, which will be crucial for the team as we strive to hit all our aims and objectives in 2025.”
The changes at RB and Red Bull mean eight of the ten teams have updated line-ups in 2025, with only McLaren and Aston Martin fielding the same pairing as this year.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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