Isack Hadjar reveals what surprised him after his first podium finish last year – Next time, the new Red Bull driver will be better prepared
Isack Hadjar drove straight onto the podium in just his 15th Formula 1 race. The then rookie finished third at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, celebrating a success he himself had not expected in his first season in the premier class.
“I wanted to be on the podium this year, but to be honest, I didn’t believe it would happen,” he admits in Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast. Accordingly, the then 20-year-old was unprepared in Zandvoort. “It was a completely new experience for me,” he recalls, explaining: “I remember being in the cooldown room with Max and Oscar, and they were prepared. They had their physios with them with towels so they could change.”
Hadjar reveals that his own performance coach, Harry Mann, was also there, but without the necessary equipment. “I asked him, ‘Did you bring me a towel?’ He replied, ‘No,’ because he didn’t know either,” Hadjar smiles.
Unlike him, the two regular podium guests Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri had “brand new” racing suits with them, “because after the podium you stink,” he explains. That’s why Verstappen and Piastri changed immediately afterwards.
“These guys smelled good during the press conference,” recalls Hadjar, who himself probably still smelled of champagne. At least after this experience, he should now be much better prepared for a possible second podium visit.
After just one Formula 1 season, Hadjar was promoted from Racing Bulls to Red Bull, where he will be Max Verstappen’s new teammate in 2026. He replaces Yuki Tsunoda, who failed to secure a single podium finish alongside the Dutchman in the 2025 season.
Hadjar’s successor at Racing Bulls is 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad from the Red Bull Junior Team.
