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Red Bull Racing senior advisor Helmut Marko has offered a subtle hint about Isack Hadjar’s future, praising the rookie’s consistency this season and noting it "bodes very well for his future". This comes as the Austrian team nears its decision on its 2026 driver lineup.
Both Helmut Marko and team principal Laurent Mekies have claimed that Red Bull will announce the final driver lineups for both their F1 outfits sometime close to the final round in Abu Dhabi in December. As things stand, only Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar are certainties.
It has also been widely reported that Hadjar will join Verstappen at the senior team. Only one of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson could partner with junior star Arvid Lindblad at Racing Bulls in 2026.
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In his blog for speedweek.com following the Brazilian GP, Helmut Marko has now dropped a subtle hint about Hadjar's future, claiming that the Frenchman's consistency will go a long way in securing his future in F1.
Rating the 21-year-old as the "revelation of the season", Marko wrote:
"Hadjar is, in my opinion, the revelation of the season and would be better positioned in the championship standings than P10, but he has suffered four engine problems. When the Parisian's car is running smoothly, he's a sure bet for the top ten - that bodes very well for his future."
Isack Hadjar has been rated highly within the Red Bull setup for years now. He gained a promotion to F1 after he finished second in the 2024 F2 season, having lost the title to Gabriel Bortoleto only in the final round of the season.
In his maiden F1 season, the RB man has exceeded expectations, sitting 10th in the drivers' standings with 43 points. Hadjar has even claimed a maiden podium this season, finishing third at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Helmut Marko reflects on Max Verstappen's championship chances after the Brazilian GP
Red Bull's Helmut Marko has claimed that something out of the ordinary needs to happen to Lando Norris if Max Verstappen is to claim the 2025 drivers' title. The 82-year-old conceded that a 49-point deficit is too much to overcome unless Norris has a retirement or crash in the coming races.
Speaking about the permutations relating to the drivers' title with three rounds to go, Marko wrote in his blog:
"With a 49-point deficit to Norris, three Grands Prix remaining, and a sprint, something has to happen with Lando Norris now to keep Max's championship hopes alive. Otherwise, we have no chance. Either Lando retires or there's a collision."
"Of course, we're not happy about the gap, but the positive for us is that we managed this turnaround during the season and so dramatically that we suddenly found ourselves back in the championship race. The overall situation is therefore positive," he added.
Lando Norris has put himself in a great position to claim his first drivers' title after solid performances in Mexico and Brazil. The 25-year-old is not only 49 points ahead of Verstappen but also 24 points ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, whose performances have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.
