Frenchman Isack Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull’s second team to race alongside Japanese Yuki Tsunoda for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The announcement fills the final seat on the 20-car F1 grid.
Hadjar, 20, finished second in Formula 2 last season to Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, who will be racing for Audi-owned Sauber in F1 next year.
The Frenchman is a replacement at the team that will now be known as Racing Bulls for Liam Lawson, who has been switched to Red Bull after they dropped Sergio Perez.
The announcement also confirms a change in the way the team will be referred to for next year.
Red Bull’s second team raced as RB in 2024 but the Lawson and Hadjar announcements this week have both referred to them as Racing Bulls.
The initials RB were short for Racing Bulls, and were used because the company felt that the full team name including its title sponsor, a credit card company, was too wordy.
“Isack’s journey to F1 has been nothing short of outstanding. He has shown remarkable growth, with a series of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks.
“He has the talent and drive necessary to compete at the highest level, and we have every confidence that he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact. I believe Isack and Yuki will make a great team,” Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls team principal, said.
Racing Bulls chief executive officer Peter Bayer said last month: “The only question throughout the year was: ‘What does RB mean, what does RB mean? Now we’re making it official: RB means Racing Bulls.”
The new name was reflected on the official FIA F1 2025 entry list, external which was published last week.
“The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in F1 is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream.
“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,” Hadjar said.
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