F1 rookie Isack Hadjar has recently been linked to the Red Bull F1 seat amid the lackluster performances put in by Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate. As Hadjar’s former boss, Laurent Mekies, moves to his new role at Red Bull, the French-Algerian driver has set his sights on promotion to the senior team.

Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto battled for the 2024 F2 title, with the Brazilian coming out on top. Nonetheless, both Hadjar and Bortoleto were promoted to the role of full-time F1 seat by Racing Bulls and Sauber, respectively.

Liam Lawson was put in as Max Verstappen‘s teammate before the start of the 2025 season, as Sergio Perez was sacked by the team. However, just two races into the season, Lawson was replaced by VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda, who’s now been Verstappen’s teammate for the last 10 races.

However, the Japanese driver has struggled like many before him in the second Red Bull seat, scoring points in only three race weekends out of the 10 he’s raced in as a Red Bull driver. The subpar performance has led to rumors around Tsunoda’s future at Red Bull, with Isack Hadjar being reported as the possible replacement.

Amid this, Red Bull fired their Team Principal, Christian Horner, from the team after the British GP and appointed VCARB’s TP Laurent Mekies to take over Horner’s role at Red Bull. During the Belgian GP press day, Isack Hadjar was asked whether having Mekies as the TP would be helpful in case he’s promoted to the Red Bull seat.

“I guess if I had to work with him it would be easier, that’s for sure. More familiar. So, yeah, I would say so. I can’t hide, it’s useful,” added Hadjar as he reflected on his relationship with Mekies.

“12 more races. So, yeah, I need to keep pushing. You’re as good as your last race at all times,” he continued.

Isack Hadjar reveals that Christian Horner’s sacking came as a shock to him

Amid the rumors of Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes for 2026 and the struggles of the RB21, Christian Horner was sacked out of the blue on July 9, 2025, with immediate effect. While Red Bull had been struggling since the start of the season, there was no knowledge of Horner’s job being on the line.

As Isack Hadjar arrived at Spa Francorchamps and spoke with the media on Thursday, ahead of the race weekend, the media explained how Christian Horner’s sacking came as a shock to them, to which Hadjar responded,

“Me too.”

The French-Algerian driver then reacted to Laurent Mekies’ move to Red Bull, as he said,

“I mean, a bit of if anything for the engineers and mechanics, I think Laurent was really appreciated in the team, so bit of sadness, obviously. But no, we are not as concerned as Red Bull Racing. So nothing major, it’s just a bit sad that he’s leaving, but that’s how it is.”

Alan Permane took over Mekies’ role at VCARB and will now be leading the team, at least till the foreseeable future.