Isack Hadjar is stepping into a new situation with the Red Bull brand in F1, as he’ll team up with Max Verstappen next season. The youngster has learned a great deal about motorsport’s top tier, and his 2025 campaign with the Racing Bulls revealed some interesting insights into how things work among the champions.
What was revealed to Hadjar?
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar Didn’t Know Drivers Changed Into Fresh Suits After Races
Running with the midfield Racing Bulls last season, Hadjar naturally didn’t experience significant success alongside teammate Liam Lawson. While the VCARB 02 often featured in the top 10, podiums were a scarcity.
Hadjar, however, turned the tide during the Dutch Grand Prix by capitalizing on McLaren star Lando Norris’s oil leakage late in the race to secure P3 behind Oscar Piastri and Verstappen. It was the Frenchman’s first career podium, and his experience during the post-race proceedings showed it in hilarious fashion, as he wasn’t accustomed to the champions’ routine.
“I remember being in the cooldown room with Max and Oscar,” he recalled. “And they were ready for that. And, you know, they had their trainers with towels so they could change, and I was like… and I looked at Harry, my guy. I was like, ‘You brought me a towel?’ He was like, ‘No.’”
Drivers who claim podium positions are usually very busy after a race, going through interviews and the trophy ceremony. Therefore, the top drivers have developed a routine of keeping an extra suit on hand after a race to stay fresh during the proceedings.
“And they all had like brand new suits because after the podium, you stink, and they get changed, and they had like this custom towel where they fit it around them so they can actually like get changed… I was amazed,” he mentioned how he was taken aback by Piastri and Verstappen’s routines.
The 2026 season, however, should be a lot different for Hadjar.
Now running in the same car as Verstappen, the Frenchman might feature on the podium more often. Red Bull showed a lot of potential at the end of last season, with the Dutchman largely dominating the field, much like in previous years.
Under Red Bull Powertrains’ new partnership with Ford, it remains to be seen whether the collaboration produces fruit for Verstappen and Hadjar to enjoy on track. Ford had last featured in F1 in 2004, when it sold Jaguar Racing to Red Bull.
