Red Bull Racing announced a contract extension for Isack Hadjar on Thursday, guaranteeing the rookie a second season in 2026 after a debut year interrupted by a wrist injury that cost him three race weekends. The move, disclosed before the mid-season break, puts Hadjar's total guaranteed compensation north of $15 million across two years, according to two people familiar with team salary structures who requested anonymity because Red Bull does not publish driver pay.
Hadjar fractured his scaphoid in May during a private karting session in the south of France. He missed Monaco, Barcelona, and Austria. The team slotted in Liam Lawson for two of those rounds and used reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa for the third. Hadjar returned at Silverstone in July with a carbon-fiber splint and finished ninth. He has scored 28 points in nine starts, placing him 14th in the championship. Lawson, who drove six races for AlphaTauri in 2023 and the two replacement drives this spring, has scored 19 points in eight total Formula One starts across two seasons.
The extension matters because Red Bull's junior program historically churns drivers on one-year deals until they either graduate to the senior team or exit the system. Hadjar is the first Red Bull-backed rookie to receive a second-year commitment before August since Pierre Gasly in 2018. That year, Gasly moved up mid-season when Daniel Ricciardo left for Renault. The pattern suggests Red Bull sees Hadjar as a Sergio Pérez replacement candidate for 2027, when Pérez's current deal expires. Pérez is 34 and has scored 96 points to Max Verstappen's 229 points through 12 rounds this season. The gap is the widest between Red Bull teammates since 2019.
The decision also clarifies the pecking order inside Red Bull's driver pool. Lawson, 22, has been in the program since 2019 and has publicly expressed frustration about limited opportunities. He attended the Miami Grand Prix in May wearing a TAG Heuer watch that does not appear in Red Bull's sponsor roster, a subtle signal his management is exploring options. Lawson's manager, Mark Webber, declined to comment on contract talks. AlphaTauri team principal Laurent Mekies said in a paddock conversation at Spa that Lawson remains "very much in our thinking" but did not specify a timeline. Lawson is signed through 2025 as a Red Bull reserve but has no race seat guaranteed.
Hadjar's extension also reflects Red Bull's bet on his off-track profile. He has 1.2 million Instagram followers, the highest among current rookies, and his personal sponsor portfolio includes deals with Alpine watchmaker Richard Mille and French streetwear brand Études. Red Bull's hospitality unit hosted 47 Hadjar-related activations across the first half of the season, including a Paris pop-up in June that drew 8,000 attendees, according to an internal Red Bull marketing deck reviewed by the Sports Edge desk. That volume trails only Verstappen's 63 activations among Red Bull-contracted drivers. The company views Hadjar as a credible face for its push into France, where energy drink market share has grown 4.2 percentage points year-over-year, per Euromonitor data.
The wrist injury timeline is worth watching. Hadjar will undergo a follow-up scan in late August. If the scaphoid has not fully healed, Red Bull will need to decide whether to rest him for additional races or risk long-term ligament damage. Scaphoid fractures in drivers have a history of recurring problems—Michael Schumacher missed two races in 1999 after his scaphoid injury led to complications. Red Bull has not announced a contingency plan if Hadjar requires further rest. Lawson remains the obvious replacement, but his contract situation with Red Bull expires at the end of 2025. If Lawson signs elsewhere before the injury picture clears, Red Bull's fallback options narrow to Iwasa, who has zero Formula One points, or a recall of retired driver Sébastien Buemi, 35, who last raced in F1 in 2011.
Hadjar's 2026 salary will include performance bonuses tied to constructor's points. The contract includes a Red Bull option for 2027, exercisable before October 2025. Pérez's current deal runs through 2026 with a team option for 2027. The timelines overlap deliberately.
The takeaway
Red Bull's two-year Hadjar commitment shifts Lawson to the exit lane and starts the Pérez succession clock 18 months early.
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