Red Bull junior sets high bar: 'I want to be in F1 by 2024'

Hadjar will start his first season in Formula 2 this year. The Frenchman was added to the Red Bull Junior Team in 2022 when he drove his first season in Formula 3. There, he eventually finished fourth with three wins and two podiums. He was then immediately promoted to Formula 2.

Asked about his expectations on the official Formula 2 website, Hadjar made it clear that he sets the bar very high for himself. "My goal is to just have a really strong season and step up to F1," explained the Frenchman. "It would be great to just spend one year in F2, that would be ideal and then go to F1. That’s the main goal, so we’ll give it everything."

Solid competition within the Red Bull family

"I’m just really happy to be part of Red Bull, it’s great!" continued Hadjar. "I’m happy to have great drivers in the same academy as me, it pushes me to be even better. I just hope to beat them all, that’s the target. It doesn’t bother me so much; I’m just focused on performing."

Hadjar will have a lot to prove, as Red Bull is certainly not short of drivers on the training programme at the moment. Hadjar is one of six Red Bull Junior drivers in Formula 2, alongside Dennis Hauger, Enzo Fittipaldi, Ayumu Iwasa, Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford. In addition, Liam Lawson, who will compete in Super Formula this year, and Formula 3 driver Sebastian Montoya are also part of the training programme. AlphaTauri drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries will also be aiming for a promotion to Red Bull Racing, and Daniel Ricciardo is also in the wings with Max Verstappen's team.