Red Bull finally seems to be rid of the ‘curse of the second seat’ at the team. Prior to the arrival of Isack Hadjar, many of Max Verstappen’s former teammates were defeated by the world champion. However, the French-Algerian driver is performing excellently, in the words of team principal Laurent Mekies: ‘We will therefore make a logical decision about Isack’s future’.
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For a long time, there was talk of the ‘curse of the second Red Bull seat’. Many of Max Verstappen’s former teammates at the Austrian team were defeated by the Dutch world champion. So far, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Sergio Pérez, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda have all had to give up their seat at the Austrian team. With the appointment of Isack Hadjar as Verstappen’s newest teammate, the ‘curse’ seems to have come to an end.
“It is good news that for the first time in a long time we have a strong second driver again,” said team principal Laurent Mekies about Hadjar during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. “That was one of our goals before this season. Isack is performing solidly and has learned a lot from the team and from Max.”
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2027 line-up
It increasingly seems that Hadjar will also remain at Red Bull in 2027, although the French-Algerian driver officially has a contract only until the end of the current season. “It is good news, also for Max, that our two cars are closer to each other this season,” Mekies continued. “We have not yet talked about the future, but everyone can see that Isack is doing excellently. So we will make a logical decision.”
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