Isack Hadjar, who has joined Red Bull for 2026, has shared a bold prediction for the upcoming season.
The French-Algerian driver has joined the Milton Keynes outfit as a new set of regulations is introduced to the championship, meaning he must adapt not only to a new team, but also the new cars. Despite this, he predicts that he could be fighting for the championship - something he shared on the red carpet at the 2026 Autosport Awards.
During his rookie Formula 1 season with Red Bull's sister team, Racing Bulls, Hadjar finished 12th in the drivers' standings with 51 points and secured his first F1 podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
After Hadjar signed with Red Bull for 2026, team principal Laurent Mekies shared that Hadjar will have full support for the year ahead after years of the team struggling with its second driver.
"At first, we are not hiding behind the fact that we need to do a better job with that second car, and that includes the second part of last year," Mekies said at the Autosport Business Exchange London.
"Yes, we've made some progress with Yuki, but not at the level that we felt we should have reached. So we are aware that we need to do a better job there.
The team chief later added: "[Isack] would not like what I'm going to say, but I guess in some respects, the fact that everything's changed in 2026, he's also [been] given a reset about how you go about extracting as much as you can from the car.
"He has been taking it from day one with maximum intensity. He has moved to London.
"He's fully aware of the challenge. He has his feet on the ground. He's a very humble guy, and we are going to support him 360 to make sure that he can express his talent in that car."
The 2026 season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix from 6-8 March, followed by the Chinese Grand Prix the week after on 13-15 March.
