Laurent Mekies: These are the expectations for Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar

A comeback following injury and a contract extension – the Baku weekend is a special one for Isack Hadjar. His team principal at Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, has now revealed that Hadjar was impossible to get out of the simulator, such was his apparent excitement at his return to racing.

Mekies: “He had his final medical on Sunday, and on Monday we put him in the simulator – and by Monday evening we couldn’t get him out of the simulator at all. So we felt that the test had gone well enough and that he’s fit, and that’s why it’s great to have him back with us. We’re pretty confident that he’s almost back to 100 per cent.”

How Hadjar earned his new contract

Speaking about the contract negotiations, the French engineer said: “It was really quite simple, to be honest. He put in a very, very strong performance in the first half of the year. Firstly because of his natural pace, and then because of the way he’s integrated into the team. He moved to the UK in the very first few weeks. He was with us in Milton Keynes almost every other week. And then – just as importantly – the way he’s developed over the course of the races. We really saw that he improved a little bit at virtually every race weekend. So it was a very, very easy decision.”

And what exactly are the terms of the contract? Hadjar himself had said he didn’t know exactly how long it ran for. He said he was focusing on driving – and remarked nonchalantly: “If you’re good, you stay.”

Red Bull Racing exercised its option for 2027

Laurent Mekies revealed a few more details: “Isack has been with Red Bull for a very long time, and that means we actually have a very long-term contract with him, as he’s part of our junior programme, and we’ve exercised our options to secure him for 2027.”

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The seat alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen is notorious. Going head-to-head with the Dutchman is arguably the biggest challenge in Formula 1. Is Hadjar set to challenge Verstappen? Or to be a good number two driver?

Mekies: “We expect him to continue to improve. So what we’ve seen in the first half of the season – that he’s increased his pace, not just the technical feedback, not just the maturity, not just the integration, but that he’s increased his pace, just as he did in the first half of the season. That’s what we’d like to see from him in the second half of the season and next year. If he manages that, he’ll naturally be right up there with Max. So these two things go hand in hand.”