ANALYSIS: Why Red Bull have committed to Hadjar for a second season

Many a driver has gone up against Max Verstappen at Red Bull and struggled to make enough of an impact to avoid benching or being cut loose – but Isack Hadjar appears to have bucked the trend and that has earned him a second season with the six-time World Champions in 2027.

The Frenchman is making his return to racing this weekend after missing the last three events while he recovered from a wrist injury, but before that bout of misfortune, Hadjar was on an immense run of form.

Having scored in his second race with the team, he followed that up with seven races in the points from race five, including a superb podium on the streets of Monte Carlo – and that left him in P8 in in the Drivers' Championship on 71 points, only 38 points and two places behind team mate Verstappen.

On average, he qualifies two places behind Verstappen and is just over two tenths of a second off on pure pace which is very competitive considering his team mate is operating at such a high level.

After his stirring fightback from 21st on the grid – having take a suite of penalties for engine component changes – in Belgium, he charged through the field on a bold tyre strategy that saw him pit twice early on before a long final stint on the hard compound, he finished sixth.

At the time, his boss Laurent Mekies described it as Hadjar's "best race with us, no question". He added "honestly, it's not only a spike, it has been just a little bit better every single race for speed. I'm very happy with his progress."

We shouldn't be surprised, though. Hadjar backed himself to deliver when he got the job. He was confident but not overconfident. When we sat down for a chat back in April, I asked him if he had worries about stepping into the second seat at Red Bull, which was known to be tricky, and his answer was refreshingly honest and telling.

"Of course I did in a way, because you look at the gaps between Max's team mates and you're like 'well, this is weird'," he said. "But at the same time, I'm realistic. It's a new regulation. We have the same car. If I believe I'm good, I'm good. And that's the end of the story."

It has turned out he is good. Very good in fact. And it is that speed and consistency plus constant improvement that has really impressed Red Bull.

It is why when he suffered his freak injury during the summer, there wasn't any panic. Red Bull already knew what they had. The focus was on ensuring he had the best recovery so that he could return and hit the ground running.

It has been a trend in this latest driver market cycle for teams to stick rather than twist. Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and now Red Bull will all field the same line-up next season. Most of those four teams have got drivers locked into for the long term, with Red Bull recently confirming Verstappen until the end of 2030.

While Hadjar hasn't got that kind of deal, as rarely does a team lock both drivers in on long deals as it removes their ability to be flexible if they need to change, triggering another season based on only half a year's results and after a stint on the sidelines is a real show of confidence in his ability.

Continuity in the second seat at Red Bull – following short stints in recent times for Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda – is also a good thing for the team as a whole, particularly as they look to fight their way back to the front having failed to launch a title fight this year.

And it's fine reward for Hadjar, who has coped brilliantly with the pressure of being Verstappen's team mate. His attitude is very impressive, as is his speed, and his form so far this year is very deserving of a second season alongside Verstappen.

If Hadjar can keep up his trajectory, it will only serve to help Red Bull find improvements quicker and give them more options strategically in races with two cars up towards the front.

Good news, then, for Red Bull who have found stability in the second seat with a Red Bull junior for the first time since Daniel Ricciardo partnered Verstappen in 2018.

And with Arvid Lindblad having had an outstanding rookie season so far and Nikola Tsolov impressing as championship leader in F2, the Red Bull conveyor belt is suddenly looking healthy again.