Lewis Hamilton fears that Isack Hadjar may be the next driver to underperform at Red Bull. The Frenchman is set to make his debut with the Austrian team in 2026, replacing Yuki Tsunoda. According to Hamilton, Tsunoda is a prime example of a talented driver who has found himself in a ‘difficult’ environment at Red Bull.
Isack Hadjar will be Max Verstappen‘s new teammate in 2026. The Frenchman thus follows in the footsteps of Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Sergio Pérez, and Yuki Tsunoda, among others. However, many of Hadjar’s predecessors have struggled against the Dutch world champion. The latest in the series, Tsunoda, was only able to out-qualify Verstappen once throughout the entire 2025 season – during the sprint race in Qatar, the Japanese driver was able to start the shortened race from P5, one place higher.”Hadjar himself is not afraid to suffer the same fate as his predecessor, but Lewis Hamilton fears for the young driver. “I only heard about it today,” said the Ferrari driver on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. “I won’t lie that I’m not worried about it. Isack has done a great job this year and he’s still very young, he’s still learning a lot about himself and his surroundings. But he’s done phenomenal work this year and he has a great approach.”
The seven-time champion, however, fears that the move to Red Bull will not benefit Hadjar. “We all know what happens when drivers go to Red Bull and what kind of environment you end up in,” Hamilton continues. “Of course, I haven’t been there, so I can’t speak from experience, but from the outside, it’s clearly quite difficult and where he is now (at Racing Bulls, ed.), he seems to have a very good environment.”
Tsunoda
Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull is accompanied by the departure of current driver Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver will be a reserve driver for the Austrians next year. According to Hamilton, Tsunoda is immediately a good example. “Yuki is a great driver, but every driver who goes to Red Bull experiences this,” says Hamilton. “But that doesn’t mean those drivers aren’t great, it’s clearly something else. So I just hope that changes are made that provide him (Hadjar, ed.) with the right support.”
