Isack Hadjar wants to test himself alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull “more than ever”, having seen several of his Formula 1 team-mates struggle in the hot seat.
After crashing out on the formation lap in Australia, Hadjar has dusted himself off and shown impressive form for Racing Bulls.
The F1 rookie has made back-to-back Q3 appearances across China and Japan, picking up his first points at Suzuka last time out.
This has occurred amid driver swapping amid Red Bull’s ranks, with Hadjar’s former Racing Bulls team-mate heading to Red Bull in Japan, with Liam Lawson coming back the other way after just two races with the senior outfit.
Hadjar told Sky Sports in Japan, “If I get the call, of course, I would say I’m ready, even if I’m not, I’d say I’m ready.”
He’s now doubled down on that assessment, having seen several drivers struggle alongside Verstappen, Hadjar is more keen than ever to test himself in F1’s toughest seat.
The 20-year-old wants to find out why Sergio Perez, Lawson and even Tsunoda have found the Red Bull hard to get to grips with.
“Honestly, now that it seems like it’s really hard to be next to Max, it makes me want to go even more, to find out why, what’s going on,” he told select media, including Motorsport Week.
“That’s still the main target,” he added.
Hadjar targeting consistent top-10 finishes with Racing Bulls
In the meantime, Hadjar expressed his targets for the rest of the season: keep his hand in the top-10 and maximise the potential of the Racing Bulls VCARB 02 challenger.
“It’s not like I don’t need to work anymore,” he said.
“Still, I always put the pressure on me to keep delivering.
“So now the expectations from people are maybe a bit higher, but I keep doing what I do.
“Like I said before the season, my target would be to keep… If the car can finish in P9 or P8, I want to be there, maximise it, not being outside the top 10.
“If the car deserves the top 10, then I need to be on it.”
Hadjar is chasing those targets alongside Lawson at Racing Bulls following Tsunoda’s departure after more than four years with the Faenza-based outfit.
The F1 rookie conceded that Tsunoda’s absence has created an experience deficit within the team.
“Yuki, when he was going out on track in FP1, he was always setting solid benchmarks straight away because he has that experience,” Hadjar claimed.
“I feel like Liam and I we’re both like rookies, and every time we go out on track, we’re exploring maybe a bit more than Yuki used to do. That’s for sure.”
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