Isack Hadjar lays down a marker for Red Bull promotion with pace in Dutch GP qualifying

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Isack Hadjar said he was “super happy” with a career-best fourth place in qualifying for Racing Bulls at the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday which underlined his status as a candidate to partner Max Verstappen at the main Red Bull team next year.

The French rookie delivered what Racing Bulls’ head of vehicle performance Guillaume Dezoteux called “the perfect lap” for the team’s best Formula 1 qualifying result of the year.

Hadjar was one place behind Verstappen and four ahead of his Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson, while the struggling Yuki Tsunoda was only 12th in the second Red Bull.

“I am super happy, this is an outstanding result for the team,” Hadjar said. “I feel confident for tomorrow, the car is working well, so there’s no reason why our race pace shouldn’t be strong. The race should be straightforward, I’ve got a good view into turn one, and the goal is to maintain position and score good points.”

The 20-year-old Hadjar’s performance came despite missing valuable practice time when his car broke down on track in Friday’s second session.

The result comes at a time when Hadjar is widely considered a candidate to partner Verstappen next season if Red Bull decides to replace Tsunoda, who hasn’t scored a point in the last seven GP races.

Moving up to the main Red Bull team would come with risks.

Verstappen has been far ahead of a series of teammates and Red Bull’s car tends to favor his driving style, making it hard for other drivers to adapt.

Red Bull dropped Sergio Pérez — who is now heading to Cadillac for 2026 — at the end of last year and replaced him with Lawson, only to send the New Zealander back to Racing Bulls after just two races and move up Tsunoda instead.

Tsunoda has scored 10 points all season, three of those while still with Racing Bulls, compared to Verstappen’s 187. Tsunoda said he was “disappointed and frustrated in the result” in qualifying but felt confident in the car and believed he could score points Sunday.

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