Four races into the 2026 Formula 1 season, Isaac Hajar sits 13th in the Drivers’ Championship — 22 points behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. For anyone who has followed the Verstappen era at Red Bull, the signs are painfully familiar.
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A Pattern Red Bull Has Perfected
Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda — each driver promoted to Red Bull’s second seat, each one eventually discarded. Hajar, promoted ahead of both Lawson and Tsunoda for 2026, appears to be walking the same road. The question is no longer if the pressure will mount, but when.
What Happened in Miami
The 2026 Miami Grand Prix weekend exposed every structural flaw in Hajar’s situation. His car was disqualified from sprint qualifying after the team made a 2mm measurement error on the bargeboard section — a mistake Red Bull’s own team principal, Christian Horner, publicly acknowledged. Hajar started the Grand Prix from the pit lane.
Caught in first-lap chaos triggered by a Verstappen spin at Turn 1, Hajar was unable to recover and did not finish the race. The team again admitted fault, conceding they had failed to provide accurate clutch behaviour data and grip estimates — tools every other team on the grid had already mastered.
The Structural Problem No One Is Talking About
Unlike Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes — where the team actively manages media exposure, filters sponsor demands, and aligns the entire organisation behind its young driver — Hajar has no senior internal advocate at Red Bull. Helmut Marko, who personally championed drivers like Tsunoda through France Tost, is gone. Hajar is alone in the most pressurised second seat in motorsport, with a car continuing to develop around Verstappen’s preferences.
The danger is not just sporting. Hajar’s aggressive, attacking driving style — the very quality that earned him promotion — becomes a liability when a team instructs its second driver to protect the chassis and bring the car home. That instruction is coming. History says so.
Verdict
Raw talent is not the issue. The system is. And the system at Red Bull has consumed every driver placed into it since 2019. Whether Isaac Hajar becomes the exception or simply the latest name on a very long list will define one of the most compelling storylines of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
▶ Watch the full story of Colapinto’s breakthrough Miami weekend:
Formula 1, F1 2026, Red Bull Racing, Isaac Hajar, Max Verstappen, Red Bull second seat, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Miami Grand Prix 2026, F1 driver lineup, Red Bull RB22, Formula 1 analysis, F1 paddock, driver development, Christian Horner
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