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The 2025 Formula 1 grid has been completed by rookie Isack Hadjar, who will join Red Bull's second F1 outfit Racing Bulls.
The 20-year-old will be the third-youngest driver on the 2025 grid, only older than fellow newcomers Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman.
Hadjar had been picked up by Red Bull's junior programme at the start of 2022, backing up its faith with a title-contending Formula 3 season - but didn't make much of an impression upon his Formula 2 graduation the following year.
Red Bull, however, had clearly earmarked him as one with F1 potential by then, giving Hadjar two F1 practice outings in 2023 (with two more coming the next year).
Yet while a huge performance step followed in F2 in 2024, Red Bull's interest seemed to waver through the season - with Hadjar's F1 promotion appearing touch-and-go for much of the year as he fought for the F2 crown.
He came up short of that crown in the end, stalling off the line in the F2 title decider - but Sergio Perez's collapse in form and the vacancy created by his exit despite two extra years on his contract have nudged Hadjar's F1 hopes over the line.
Hadjar's promotion means France is back to having three full-time drivers on the F1 grid, having been scaled down to two representatives (Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon) following Romain Grosjean's exit after the 2020 season.
He will be Yuki Tsunoda's fifth different team-mate at Red Bull's second F1 outfit, after Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson - who was chosen to replace Perez in the main team for 2025.
Isack Hadjar's path to F1
2019: Part-time in French F4
2020: 3rd in French F4
2021: 5th in Formula Regional European
2022: 4th in F3
2023: 14th in F2
2024: 2nd in F2
What Hadjar/Racing Bulls said
Hadjar said it was "huge for myself, my family and all the people who have believed in me from the beginning".
He added: "I feel like I'm stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world.
"It'll be a huge learning curve, but I'm ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team.
"I look forward to working with and learning from Yuki, I've always looked up to him, he went through the Red Bull junior programme, like myself, and we've shared a similar path to F1.
"He's very experienced and will be good to learn from."
Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies said Hadjar brings "a new and fresh dynamic" to the team and called his journey to F1 "nothing short of outstanding".
Team CEO Peter Bayer believes Lawson's promotion to Red Bull Racing and the signing of Hadjar is a testament to the purpose Racing Bulls serves.
"Firstly, we must congratulate Liam for his step up to Red Bull Racing. As a sister team and as an incubator for Formula 1 talent, our strategic objective is to foster and nurture our drivers in preparation for this next step," Bayer said.
"With this move and by bringing Isack into VCARB, it's a testament to our longstanding commitment to develop the best young drivers in motorsport, as well as proof of concept of the Red Bull junior programme.
"Having a younger driver supports our mission to speak to a younger audience, so we look forward to bringing new and existing fans on the journey with us."
