The Frenchman will link up with Yuki Tsunoda next season after the Japanese driver missed out on the second Red Bull seat for 2025.
The 24-year-old and teammate RB teammate Liam Lawson were the leading candidates to replace Sergio Perez, who has left Red Bull after four seasons following a dismal 2024 campaign that saw him finish 285 points behind champion Max Verstappen and cost the Milton Keynes-based outfit the Constructors’ Championship as they finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari.
| Position | Constructors' Standings | PointsPts |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Perez’s position within the team became untenable and he opted to part ways before 2025, opening the door for one of the RB drivers to land a promotion.
After much deliberation, it was Lawson who was handed the chance to drive alongside Verstappen.
Christian Horner says Lawson demonstrated ‘the right mindset’ for Red Bull in his 11 appearances across 2023 and 2024 for the junior team as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.
The Kiwi driver’s promotion left a seat vacant at RB, with Hadjar being confirmed on Friday to be partnering Tsunoda – who already signed a contract with the team earlier in the year.
Hadjar comes to F1 after losing the F2 title to Gabriel Bortoleto in Abu Dhabi.
Heading into the final event of 2024 half a point behind the Brazilian, the 20-year-old suffered a mechanical issue in the Feature Race, shattering his championship hopes.
Despite the disappointment of finishing runner-up, Hadjar still had a very successful campaign, winning the most races of any driver in the championship with four, as well as claiming eight podiums.
His performances received praise from many key figures around Red Bull, including Verstappen, who back in August shared that the Frenchman was doing a ‘great job’ in the junior category.
“Of course I see him here and there walking around with the team, he has driven the car a few times,” the Dutchman told RacingNews365.
“And he’s doing a great job. He had a bit of bad luck anyway, in the beginning of this season. I mean, that’s all that you need to do, I guess. And then it’s of course up to management.”
While he has not won any junior category in his career so far, Hadjar has good momentum off the back of his F2 season and he will be keen to keep it up.
The 20-year-old will face strong competition from teammate Tsunoda, who has been well-established at RB since 2021 and he outqualified and outraced Daniel Ricciardo and even Lawson in 2024.
Furthermore, Hadjar is only contracted for the 2025 season and knowing Red Bull’s nature of brutally demoting or outright sacking their drivers, the Frenchman will be under pressure to perform or face being dropped.
Hadjar’s previous outings in F1 have not gone so well, as he suffered a disappointing debut at Silverstone this year and he spun in Abu Dhabi in FP1. The 20-year-old will be looking to right those wrongs when he stops into an F1 car full-time next season.
