Max Verstappen believes “it made perfect sense” for Red Bull to retain Isack Hadjar for the 2027 season, adding that it is “good that we have that continuation”.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, Red Bull confirmed Hadjar would remain with the team for another season, having been promoted this term after a successful rookie campaign with Racing Bulls.
Hadjar will return to action this weekend in Baku having missed the last three races due to a wrist injury, with Verstappen pleased to continue his working relationship with the Frenchman for the rest of this season and into next year.
“It made perfect sense to announce that,” said Verstappen on Wednesday’s media day in Baku. “I think for everyone it’s good.
“I get on very well with him, it’s good that we have continuation and we can just focus on the races ahead.
“I think as a team we are very happy about that [Hadjar returning this weekend]. I think Racing Bulls is happy about that because they can go back to their normal structure and focus on their job. Just happy that Isack is able to drive again because it’s his seat.”
Verstappen has reached the podium six times this season but has yet to climb the top step
Verstappen has finished on the podium at four of the last five Grands Prix but has yet to win a race under the new-for-2026 regulations.
The Dutchman has won twice on the streets of Baku, but believes that he will need to drag a performance from his 2026 challenger, as Red Bull still lack outright pace compared with Mercedes and McLaren.
“I hope that we can be in that mix of fighting for the podium because the last few races have been going quite well,” he added.
“Of course I want to win instead of joining in on the podium celebrations. Hopefully we can still win one race this year but I know it’s tough.
“I think at this stage it’s still dragging out a win. I think there’s not really been a race where it felt like there was a proper shot in terms of race pace. Even the last two podiums we’ve had, if you look at the race pace we’ve been most of the time fourth best on pace.
“I think we’ve maximised many results, we’ve done a good job with the strategy of putting yourself in a place on the first lap where it’s hard to pass.
“It’s getting better, the car is probably a little bit more together the last few weekends but it’s not fast enough so we need to work on improving the car overall.”
