Hadjar’s numbers offer Red Bull fresh hope

Isack Hadjar is producing the strongest early statistical challenge to Max Verstappen from a Red Bull team-mate since Daniel Ricciardo, according to Formula 1’s analysis of qualifying and championship data.

Hadjar’s average qualifying deficit to Verstappen after the opening 11 rounds stands at just over 0.1 seconds when lap times are normalised to 90 seconds. That makes the Frenchman the closest Red Bull driver to Verstappen since Ricciardo, who recorded a deficit of roughly 0.05 seconds in 2017.

Ricciardo’s average gap widened to just under 0.2 seconds in 2018, a figure Hadjar has also bettered. The comparison is particularly striking against the drivers who occupied Red Bull’s second seat in the intervening years.

Recent Red Bull team-mates struggled to match Verstappen

Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were each around half a second slower than Verstappen on average in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Sergio Perez was more than half a second behind in 2023, while Yuki Tsunoda recorded the largest deficit of the group in 2025 at just over 0.6 seconds.

Gasly’s 2019 Red Bull spell lasted 12 races before he was demoted to the team then known as Toro Rosso, with Albon taking his place in a direct swap.

A 41-point gap after 11 rounds

The championship standings tell a similarly encouraging story for Hadjar. He currently trails Verstappen by 41 points after 11 rounds, placing him among the drivers with the smallest points deficits at this stage of a season.

That gap is dramatically smaller than the margins recorded in recent campaigns. Verstappen finished 2025 388 points ahead of Tsunoda, while he ended 2023 290 points clear of Perez. Perez nevertheless finished second in the championship that year, underlining Red Bull’s dominance.

Ricciardo remains the only Red Bull team-mate to outscore Verstappen over a season together. In 2017, Ricciardo collected 200 points to Verstappen’s 168. Verstappen reversed the advantage in 2018, but his 79-point lead over Ricciardo remains the smallest full-season deficit he has held over a Red Bull team-mate.

Hadjar still has the second half of the 2026 season to close the gap further. The current figures do not guarantee that he will break Ricciardo’s benchmark, but they suggest Red Bull may have found a second driver capable of staying significantly closer to Verstappen than most of his recent team-mates.