Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing) on Verstappen: “Max is like a machine”

Isack Hadjar has arguably the toughest job in the paddock for the 2026 season: he is Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull Racing. Not everyone can hold their own alongside what is arguably the best racing driver of his generation. It’s difficult to cut a fine figure alongside the four-time world champion.

Yet Isack Hadjar is doing his job really well this year. So far in 2026, the score stands at 7:3 in Verstappen’s favour on both the starting grid and in the races. In other words, Hadjar has finished ahead of Verstappen on three occasions. In the Grand Prix, these were China, Monaco and Silverstone – although this was partly due to retirements. But what’s striking is that when Hadjar finishes behind Verstappen, the gap is usually small.

“Of course I had my doubts”

Isack Hadjar said of his challenging role: “You’re naturally aware of where you’ve ended up. Of course, I had my doubts. Because it’s Max. You can’t deny that he’s brilliant. Of course, there were doubts and pressure. But so far, things are going pretty much as I’d hoped.”

Max is like a machine

Speaking to the French media, he said of his team-mate Verstappen: “Max is like a machine. That’s always difficult for a human being to emulate. In his first few races, he really showed me that he sets an impressive pace. Also, the way he manages his tyres is at a very, very high level.”

The simple things went badly, the difficult ones well

Overall, Hadjar is also satisfied with his season so far. The Frenchman said: “It started off a bit tricky. I got the simple things very wrong at the beginning. The difficult things – finding my rhythm, being quick, staying close to Max – I did very well. I’ve managed to be a bit more consistent in the final laps. And we’ve sorted out a few issues within the team. It’s much easier to achieve good results when the car is reliable.”

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Hadjar: “I struggled with the starts at the beginning. But it was also about things like energy management and so on. Spinning on lap 1 isn’t ideal. That sort of thing ruins weekends. It’s good, but I’d like a race where I could fight for a proper podium finish. That’s the next goal.”

After the Hungarian Grand Prix, the summer break is just around the corner: “There’s still a lot we don’t understand. Racing every week certainly doesn’t help with that. So perhaps it’s quite good to have a bit of a break. Hopefully we’ll have a few more answers at Zandvoort.”