​Will Buxton believes Isack Hadjar is the most competitive teammate Max Verstappen has faced since Daniel Ricciardo. In the latest Up To Speed episode, joined by former F1 driver David Coulthard, Buxton assessed the current state of Red Bull’s driver lineup amid ongoing speculation about an exit clause in Verstappen’s contract. He pointed out that the Milton Keynes outfit again faces a surplus of drivers for its four available seats at Red Bull and its sister operation, Racing Bulls.
“Red Bull find themselves once again in a quandary where they have too many drivers for their seats, whether Max stays or is swapped out for another driver or whoever, if rumours are to be believed,” Buxton said. In his view, Hadjar is arguably the best teammate Verstappen has had since Daniel Ricciardo in terms of how closely he can match Verstappen’s pace. He praised Hadjar’s performance, adding that Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson are also delivering stellar efforts.
Buxton highlighted Nikola Tsolov in Formula 2 as well, noting that Tsolov has just achieved three consecutive wins, including back-to-back feature-race victories. He explained that securing both the feature race and the sprint on the same weekend in F2 is particularly challenging due to the reverse-grid format, and Tsolov accomplished it at Silverstone. Buxton asserted that such form compounds Red Bull’s driver headache rather than reducing it.
“Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing,” Coulthard commented, acknowledging the positive competition among Red Bull’s young talents. “Yeah, it’s a good problem to have. I guess there’s always a possibility if they’re happy with the others that they could help position him somewhere else.”
Coulthard added his perspective on Red Bull’s broader strategy. He argued that the team is ahead of the game in terms of motorsport investment and driver development when considering both historical commitments and current valuations. He emphasized that Red Bull isn’t approaching a ceiling in their spending or their development program, framing the situation as a favorable challenge rather than a constraint.
“It’s a good problem to have, but listen for that name—Nikola Tsolov from Bulgaria. He drives very well and has a strong personality outside the car as well. I’m looking forward to seeing him in Formula 1,” Coulthard concluded.
For more Motorsport.com coverage, readers are encouraged to visit the website. The discussion underscores Red Bull’s ongoing strategy of cultivating a deep bench of talent and the potential for strategic decisions, including possible driver movements, as the team navigates both performance goals and commercial considerations.