Red Bull sister team announces Liam Lawson's replacement for the 2025 F1 season
Red Bull's sister team, V-Ca-RB, has announced Isack Hadjar as Liam Lawson's replacement for the 2025 F1 season. The French driver would be teamed up with Yuki Tsunoda next year in what would be a crucial year for the 20-year-old as he tries to find his feet in the sport.
The door for Hadjar opened after Red Bull announced that Liam Lawson would be the driver to replace Sergio Perez in 2025 and partner Max Verstappen. As a result, a seat opened up for the young French driver who would make his F1 debut alongside Yuki Tsunoda as his teammate.
In the press release issued by Red Bull's sister team on Friday, Hadjar expressed his excitement about stepping into his new role at the team and said,
“I’m very excited to step into my new role at VCARB. This is huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning. The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in Formula 1 is the moment I’ve working towards my whole life – it is the dream."
Discussing the opportunity to move to F1 and drawing inspiration from soon-to-be teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Isack added:
“I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve, but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team. I look forward to working with and learning from Yuki. I’ve always looked up to him, he went through the Red Bull junior programme like myself and we’ve shared a similar path to F1. He’s very experienced and will be good to learn from.”
Isack Hadjar has had a very impressive junior career. This season he was in contention for the F2 title which he ultimately lost to Gabriel Bortoleto in the last race of the season due to a reliability issue.
Laurent Mekies excited to have the Red Bull junior on the team in 2025
Team principal Laurent Mekies also commented on welcoming the youngster into the fold. The former Ferrari man commended Isack Hadjar for the growth he's shown in his rookie career and was looking forward to the kind of results the Tsunoda-Hadjar could bring to the team.
“We’re excited to have Isack with us next year, bringing a new and fresh dynamic to the team alongside Yuki in 2025," Mekies said. "His journey to Formula 1 has been nothing short of outstanding. He has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks."
Expressing his belief in the young Frenchman, Mekies added:
“He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact. I believe Isack and Yuki will make a great team. Yuki brings invaluable experience to the team. He’s shown incredible resilience and maturity, which will be crucial for the team as we strive to hit all our aims and objectives in 2025.”
With Isack joining Yuki, the Red Bull and V-Ca-RB driver lineup has finally settled, as all the seats for the 2025 F1 grid are now filled.