Isack Hadjar Secures Final Formula 1 Spot for 2025 Season

French driver Isack Hadjar has been elevated to Red Bull’s junior team, where he will compete alongside Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda during the 2025 Formula 1 season. This announcement completes the 20-car F1 grid. Hadjar will replace Liam Lawson at the team, which will now be known as Racing Bulls. Lawson has been transferred to Red Bull following the departure of Sergio Perez. The 20-year-old Hadjar placed second in last season’s Formula 2 championship, finishing behind Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who is scheduled to race for Audi-owned Sauber in F1 next year. Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies stated: “Isack’s journey to F1has been nothing short of outstanding. He has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks.” He 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.” Hadjar commented on his promotion, saying: “The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in F1 is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream.” He further expressed, “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.” The announcement also effectively confirms a change in the team’s official designation for the upcoming year. While Red Bull’s second team competed as RB in 2024, both the recent announcements concerning Lawson and Hadjar have referred to them as Racing Bulls. The initials RB were an abbreviation for Racing Bulls and were adopted because the company felt that the full team name, including its title sponsor (a credit card company), was too lengthy. However, the team’s email addresses have consistently used “Racing Bulls” throughout the current year, leading Red Bull to decide that the original name will be used after all. Racing Bulls Chief Executive Officer Peter Bayer said last month: “The only question throughout the year was: ‘What does RB mean, what does RB mean? Now we’re making it official: RB means Racing Bulls.” The new name was reflected on the official FIA F1 2025 entry list, which was published last week.