Hadjar reveals that iron-fisted Marko has 'never been rude' to him during F1 journey

10:54, 28 Apr

byToby Nixon

Isack Hadjar has explained the unique way in which his motorsport journey began. The Frenchman also spoke about his relationship with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar has revealed all in a recent interview with Autosport. Hadjar has scored five points after the first five rounds of the 2025 season and has impressed as a rookie. Hadjar scored a big point for RB last time out in Saudi Arabia, as the 20-year-old made up important positions after starting in 14th place.

"It was just watching the movie Cars at home," Hadjar revealed when asked how he got into motorsport. "I was like two years old. I remember the moment we bought the DVD. It's crazy that I can remember that! And after that I started watching Formula 1 on TV. So yeah, that's how it started," he explained.

The Frenchman finished runner-up in last year's 2024 F2 championship. The battle went down to the wire against now fellow F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto. At the final race in Abu Dhabi, Hadjar stalled on the grid, and his dreams of the title were shattered.

Still, he praised Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko for always having faith in him. The young Frenchman explained that their relationship has always been positive.

Hadjar 'had more laughs' with Marko than anything else

Other Red Bull juniors have had to face the wrath of Marko on multiple occasions, but Hadjar hasn't felt this.

"So with me, it was not as bad as with some of the other guys. We have an honest relationship and, honestly, I had more laughs with him than anything else," he explained.

Marko's infamous post-race calls aren't something which Hadjar is familiar with. "He doesn't call me at all sometimes! No, he has never been rude to me. Even when I had my awful first F2 season, he kept me in the programme."

Hadjar crashed out of his debut race in Australia on a wet formation lap, Marko was criticised by media after branding his incident as embarrassing. The Frenchman actually agreed with his advisor. "He didn't care about my crash. This kind of thing, it can happen to anyone. He was not mad or anything. He was just like: 'OK, we'll be better in China'. That was it."