Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar will take the bottom spot in the much-changed 2025 Formula 1 table after being confirmed as Racing Bulls' second driver for next year.
With Liam Lawson promoted to Red Bull's senior team to replace Sergio Perez, Red Bull's second team – which changes its name from RB for next year – had an open spot alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
Frenchman Hadjar, 20, finished second in this year's F2 championship to Sauber new boy Gabriel Bortolet after four wins and became the latest driver from Red Bull's junior program to graduate to F1.
He played four one-on-one sessions with two Red Bull teams over the past two seasons at F1 race weekends and became the 19th driver from the company's junior program to step up to the top level.
“I am very excited to step into my new role at VCARB, this is huge for me, my family and all the people who believed in me from the beginning,” said Hadjar.
“The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters to now in Formula 1 is a moment I've been working towards all my life, it's a dream.
“I feel like I'm stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing against the best drivers in the world. It's going to be a huge learning curve, but I'm ready to work hard and do my best for the team.
“I'm looking forward to working with Yuki and learning from him, I've always looked up to him, he came through the Red Bull Junior program like me and we shared a similar path to F1. He is very experienced and it will be good to learn from him.”
Racing Bulls director Laurent Mekies, whose outfit finished eighth in the 2024 Constructors' Championship, said: “(Hadjar's) journey to Formula 1 has been nothing short of remarkable, showing remarkable growth, with a string of impressive results in the junior single-seater ranks .
“He has the talent and enthusiasm necessary to compete at the highest level and we are confident he will adapt quickly and make a significant impact
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Red Bull has confirmed Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen's teammate for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
In a clear change in the order in F1, Hadjar is the fourth driver from this year's F2 field to win a place in the top-level race for 2025 after Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Bortolet.
Jack Doohan, who competed in Formula 2 from 2021 to 2023, has been promoted to the Alpine race seat, while Lawson will compete in a full season for the first time after cameos in each of the last two campaigns.
Only two of Formula 1's 10 teams – constructors' champions McLaren and Aston Martin – have the same two drivers they started 2024 with.
Watch all 24 race weekends of the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports from NOW – No contract, cancel anytime