Hadjar and the anecdotes of a superstar in 2025: “Red Bull? I called mum, but she already knew”

The surprise of 2025 In France they already call him “le petit Prost” (the little Prost), even if for now he dissembles by saying that the only reason for the parallelism is in the fact that, like the former super champion of the past, he too has the bad habit of biting his nails. In reality, in his first season in Formula 1 Isack Hadjar showed many other qualities, also in terms of talent, speed and tactical intelligence on the track, which however will be put to the test in his first year as Max Verstappen’s teammate in Red Bull: a challenge which, for one thing, has already swallowed up people like Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda before him, not to mention the expert (and equally chopped) Sergio Perez. Isack Hadjar and the anecdotes of the first year of F1 Interviewed by the “family” podcast Talking Bulls, the 21-year-old talks about himself, however showing a very different approach compared to almost all his predecessors, reiterating how the Verstappen mountain is practically impossible to climb: a nice way to lower the level of expectations while waiting, precisely, to try to amaze (again) when the engines are started. “After the call from Red Bull – explains Isack Hadjar – I immediately called my mother, but she told me that in reality she had already received that call before me. She already knew, she is my manager and often knows more things than me! There are moments when I realize what is happening and I am ready for the challenge, and others when I think ‘What the hell am I doing here? Why me? How come I was chosen?'”. The (impossible) challenge against Max Verstappen “However, it is something fantastic to be in Red Bull, because – adds the young French talent – I am only 21 years old, I started racing in single-seaters in 2019 and now I will be a teammate of the best driver on the grid. It is a huge privilege. He came so close to the world title in 2025 without the best car, but there were races where the conditions were very difficult and he was always there. Furthermore, he has a great ability to always go in Q3, to always look for a better flying lap time in qualifying and, if there is even one opportunity, a one in 10 million scenario where he actually wins the race, then he will win.” Prost vs Senna Hadjar then also tells nice anecdotes, such as the meeting with his illustrious compatriot Alain Prost: “As a child, however, I supported Senna! Then, as I grew up, I learned to appreciate more and more what Prost did. If you look at his career, he had a great journey in terms of statistics and the teams he played for. He won with all the great teams, he had difficult teammates. And I love his approach because he always used head. My father is a physicist and has always wanted to meet Alain and he was here when I gave him my helmet. The best moment was seeing dad, who followed Prost racing live, spend some time with him.” Isack Hadjar’s first podium There is also a curiosity about the day of the first and so far only podium, which arrived in the 2025 Dutch GP: “I remember that I was on the back podium with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri and that they were already ready for that. They had their trainers with them, who handed them towels so that they could also change their suit. And instead I looked at my coach, Harry, and told him ‘You brought a towel for me?’. And he simply told me ‘Um, no’. After the race a rider smells, it’s normal, and they were already like new during the press conference, I smelled…”, concluded Isack Hadjar.