Isack Hadjar will remain a Red Bull Racing driver for the 2027 Formula 1 season. The 21-year-old joined the senior team at the start of 2026 after an impressive rookie year with Racing Bulls and has secured a second season alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
The news arrives ahead of Hadjar’s return in Baku. A wrist injury sustained during the summer break kept him out of the previous three rounds, with Liam Lawson filling in at Red Bull. Hadjar has recovered in time for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which takes place on Saturday.
Team principal Laurent Mekies credited Hadjar’s work with his engineers and his composure since stepping up to Red Bull. The extension also gives the team continuity after Verstappen agreed last month to remain through at least the end of 2030.
Why Red Bull kept Hadjar
The seat beside Verstappen has proved difficult for several drivers, including Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. Hadjar has been competitive in his first season with the senior team, at times getting the better of Verstappen. Despite his three-race absence, he enters the Baku weekend eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.
Hadjar’s 2026 Monaco Grand Prix podium was also reinstated following an appeal concerning penalties involving Gasly. His results, together with the progress Red Bull says he has made at the factory, have earned him another year in the car.
What the decision means for the 2027 grid
Red Bull joins Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in retaining its current pairing for 2027. Alpine, Williams and Cadillac also have both drivers under contract, while Audi is expected to continue with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg.
Attention now turns to Racing Bulls, Haas and Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso has yet to decide his future, leaving uncertainty over an Aston Martin seat. Oliver Bearman is expected to stay at Haas, but Esteban Ocon’s place remains a subject of discussion, with Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara among the potential alternatives.
Racing Bulls faces a different choice. Lawson and Arvid Lindblad have both performed well, while Red Bull junior and Formula 2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov is pressing his case for a Formula 1 opportunity. Hadjar’s extension settles the senior Red Bull lineup, but leaves that decision open.
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