Villeneuve sure Hadjar will be Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull in 2026
08:01, 04 Sep
Updated: 10:01, 04 Sep
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Co-author:Tobia Elia
byEstéban den Toom
Jacques Villeneuve believes Isack Hadjar is already being prepared to join Red Bull next year as Max Verstappen's teammate.
Many were impressed by Hadjar’s performance at Zandvoort. He qualified fourth on the challenging Dutch dunes circuit and made it to the podium after Lando Norris retired due to smoke rising from his cockpit.
Appearing on the Sky F1 Show podcast, Jacques Villeneuve expressed his belief that the Frenchman will be Verstappen’s teammate next year: ''He is heading to Red Bull. There's no doubt there. There's no other way to spin it. He is being prepared for Red Bull. He was put there by Helmut Marko to see how he would cope with F1.''
''He's been coping better than any other junior Red Bull or even other than Max, any other Red Bull driver. And anyway, he doesn't decide when he goes up. He's a Red Bull driver. They decide where he drives. The only one who actually cannot be demoted is Max.''
Hadjar took his first podium in Formula 1 at Zandvoort
Villeneuve on Hadjar at Red Bull
The 1997 world champion is convinced that Hadjar’s character and personality align well with the type of driver Red Bull looks for: ''The opposite of some other drivers that win everything in the smaller categories, but put them in a bit kind of pressure and they collapse. Also, he's perfect at Red Bull.''
''Now, put a driver like him maybe in a Sauber or a Haas and it just wouldn't work. Or in a team where you need to be more clean cut, than Red Bull, because Red Bull like the extravagant drivers, the extravagant attitude, and it works out.
''So he's in the perfect team to progress. It's perfect for him. Imagine him in a situation like Ferrari. I'm not sure that would suit him.''
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