COLUMN: Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar on reaching F1, coping with pressure and doing his family proud

Isack Hadjar is one of six rookie drivers on the 2025 Formula 1 grid, with the 20-year-old French-Algerian debuting for Racing Bulls after finishing runner-up in last year’s F2 standings. As the season-opening Australian Grand Prix approaches, he shares his standout thoughts and feelings in a special column for F1.com…

Finally, I get to officially hit the track in F1!

This is what I’ve always wanted – and now it’s happening. It’s a strange feeling, but once I’m in the car I completely forget about it. For me, it’s totally natural.

READ MORE: Gabriel Bortoleto vs Isack Hadjar – the closest F2 title fight in history

I don’t feel like I could be more prepared than I am for the season ahead.

On the physical side, I’m fit and ready. I did a training camp in Qatar at the start of the year, staying out there for around two weeks. It was intense but fun. I also got to work with my new trainer, and we had a good relationship straight away.

Then, throughout January and February, I spent lots of time at VCARB’s factories in Faenza, Italy, and Milton Keynes, the UK.

It’s mainly been about team building with my guys, even if I’ve known most of them since my first F1 experience at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix – when I drove for Scuderia AlphaTauri in the opening practice session. It’s crazy that almost a year-and-a-half has passed since then. It feels like it was just a few weeks ago…

ANALYSIS: The key factor that saw ‘raw talent’ Hadjar handed his shot with Racing Bulls

Driving an F1 car for the first time in an FP1 session is not normally something that happens, with no private test run or anything like that coming before it. It’s also cool that my first F1 outing was filmed!

Anyway, the team wasn’t new to me, and it meant we could get to work at the factories straight away over the winter. I’ve done a lot of laps in the simulator and spent plenty of time with my engineer, looking through technical points, attending meetings and so on.

It’s all been great so far, and we’re progressing well.

I’ve also had marketing and communications commitments, taking part in shoots for the team and our partners, some of which are new, which is a good thing for our future.

At the F1 75 Live event, it was nice to see all the teams get together, presenting their cars to a huge audience on site and on television. Hopefully the fans enjoyed the show and are now even more excited to see the season start!

WATCH: Racing Bulls’ memorable livery presentation at F1 75 Live in London

I saw our car, the VCARB 02, in real life for the first time at The O2. I had only seen it on a phone beforehand, so unveiling it on stage in London was a nice surprise. I think it’s amazing. The livery is very cool and will stand out on track – even more when we’re under the lights of the night races.

In terms of driving an F1 car, my experience is still quite limited. At the recent pre-season test in Bahrain, it was just about getting comfortable in an F1 car and being able to reach the limits of it when I want to.

Things went well, with many kilometres covered. I did some long runs, which is important, because I have never raced for one-and-a-half hours before.

I felt immediately comfortable at the wheel and there were no big issues to report. There is obviously more to do to be where we want to be, not just with the car but also for myself, as I still have to learn many things.

READ MORE: Hadjar vows to be ‘spectacular’ on track as he previews debut F1 season at Racing Bulls

It’s great to have Yuki as my reference. He’s got a lot of experience, he’s fast and I get on very well with him. I’m sure our collaboration will be fruitful and beneficial for the team. I know it can’t happen all at once. Our goal is to work together to find ourselves in a much better position in the shortest possible time.

The first race of the season – the Australian Grand Prix – is just around the corner. As I said, this moment is what I’ve been waiting for all my life. I’m very motivated to do well, but I have to take it one step at a time.

There’s a bit of pressure, which I put on myself, to be at the level required. My level. My standards. I’ll also be racing against the best drivers in the world – in the fastest cars in the world.

But Melbourne, I hope, is going to be the start of a long F1 career.

READ MORE: F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel on F1’s ‘exceptional’ rookie intake and why Bearman’s super-sub showing was so vital

I think my debut is a bigger moment for my family. My parents, my sister, who have been there throughout my career so far… I can’t wait for them to watch me when I go out on track.

I just want to do them proud.

Isack