Isack Hadjar, the talking point of the Formula 1 season

Anything but a coincidence. Isack Hadjar has been groomed for success in F1. Born in Paris on 28 September 2004, the French-Algerian shone in the junior categories and the intermediate series. Logically enough, he is stepping up to the top level at just 20 years old and with huge expectations.

A first in F1 at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne

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This Melbourne Grand Prix in Australia will be one to remember. It will mark Isack Hadjar's Formula 1 debut with Racing Bulls. The 20-year-old's performances will be scrutinised closely, as he is tipped for a very bright future on the circuit after impressive displays in the junior ranks.

Read also: Who is Isack Hadjar, the rising star arriving in Formula 1?

Despite his young age, Hadjar is already very mature. He already knows where he wants to go in Formula 1. He sets himself no limits and believes in his abilities and qualities to shake up the pecking order in the years ahead.

“I have a very strong chin, a hot temper, I speak my mind and I'm brave. I sometimes hear drivers say they change personality under the helmet, but that's not the case for me. I do everything to stay the same. Behind the wheel, as in life, I'm lucid and aware. I never switch off, because you must never lose control of yourself”, he said in the pages of the newspaper Libération.

Resilience for Isack Hadjar

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Making this F1 race already feels like a victory for Isack Hadjar, since his beginnings were far from easy. He has faced every kind of difficulty. He had stunted growth, which put him at a disadvantage from his first years in competition. On top of that, there was the financial struggle to maintain his single-seater.

“You can't see much. You can't brake with the force you want. But when it's been like that since you were 7, it's routine. It was always my father who did my mechanics, while other drivers had private teams. I never managed to do the full calendar or have the best engine, etc. I always had to compensate, it was frustrating”, he says in the documentary Le Feu Intérieur on Canal+.

Isack Hadjar's career path

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As mentioned above, Hadjar began karting in 2012, where he impressed the French Motorsport Federation (FFSA). In 2018, he took part in the junior European Championships.

Read also: Formula 1: South Africa takes pole position

In 2019, the French-Algerian made his first appearance in single-seaters in the French Formula 4 championship after winning the Winfield trophy. At the end of his first season, he finished 7th with 118 points and a win at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. In his second season in France, the Paris native clearly showed his progress. He finished with an impressive record of 3 wins, 2 pole positions, 11 podiums and a total of 233 points.

Isack Hadjar spent the 2021/22 season in Formula Regional European after signing with R-ace GP. In 2020, he stepped up to Formula 3 and quickly climbed the ladder. At the end of the 2023/24 season, he was Formula 2 runner-up.

Isack Hadjar is now battle-hardened for Formula 1. He has enjoyed a steady, linear progression.