At Zandvoort, Sunday, August 31, 2025, Isack Hadjar (20 years old) clinched his first Formula 1 podium with Racing Bulls, after a race held from 4th place and opened by the late retirement of Lando Norris. The Frenchman celebrated with his team. However, he saw his trophy break in his hands. This anecdote does not erase the significance of this milestone.
A Sunday of dunes and nerves: the facts
Sunday August 31, 2025, on the sand-swept circuit of Zandvoort, Isack Hadjar (20 years old) delivered the finest race of his young career. Starting 4th on the grid, the Racing Bulls driver held his position in the heart of a Dutch Grand Prix stirred by three neutralizations and sporadic showers. After 72 laps, he secured 3rd place, behind Oscar Piastri (winner) and Max Verstappen. The mechanics decided the McLaren battle: Lando Norris had to retire at the end of the race due to an engine failure, leaving the podium to the Frenchman.
In the post-race jubilation, one detail caught attention: Hadjar’s trophy split in two during the team photo. The person concerned smiled, half-embarrassed, half-amused. A light-hearted image that should not overshadow the substance: this result, built without notable error, in a car reputed to be less fast, already counts in his trajectory.
The rookie who doesn’t flinch: quick portrait
Born on September 28, 2004, in Paris, of Franco-Algerian origin and holding dual nationality, he races under a French license. Vice-champion of Formula 2 in 2024, he was appointed to Racing Bulls for 2025, after a formative journey in the Red Bull Junior Team and convincing stints in free practice.
• About the driver: Isack Hadjar.
• About the team: Racing Bulls (Visa Cash App RB F1 Team).
• The setting: Dutch Grand Prix 2025 and Circuit of Zandvoort.
In the Red Bull program, Racing Bulls is the workshop where talents are polished. Hadjar found a more consistent car there than in the spring and an environment that values his race reading, tire management, and clean defense. His permanent number 6 has become familiar in the mirrors of more seasoned drivers.
A controlled race: defending, reading the track, seizing the opportunity
The first stint set the tone: Hadjar contained Charles Leclerc and George Russell without exposing himself, adapting his times in the middle sector to maintain the advantage in the activation zone. The multiple restarts after incidents — off-track excursion by Lewis Hamilton, collision between Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc — offered many opportunities to make mistakes. The Frenchman did not fall for it.
The key was the discipline of pace: smooth driving, economical corner entries, and a final stint robust enough to convert Norris’s retirement into a podium. The scenario is not a "stroke of luck": it is the reward for a race held from start to finish.
Tricolor record: a podium of precocity
At 20 years, 11 months, and 3 days, Hadjar becomes the youngest Frenchman in history to climb onto a Formula 1 podium. He also ranks among the very first in the general classification of precocity — behind Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll, and alongside the rising generation embodied by Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris.
This milestone says something about the era: F1 rewards drivers barely out of school, trained on simulators, honed by junior series, and suddenly thrown into races with high strategic density. At Zandvoort, Hadjar showed he had the tempo and composure.
A broken trophy, an intact symbol
The episode made people smile: the trophy broke at its thinnest part during the family photo. Anecdotal, yes. But the image sums up the day: a mix of tension and joy, fragility and elevation. The Frenchman maintained the right emotional distance: celebrating without getting carried away.
What this changes for Racing Bulls
For Racing Bulls, this podium has both sporting and political significance. Sporting, because it confirms the progress of the VCARB-02 in the tight midfield traffic. Political, because it reactivates discussions about a future closer to Red Bull Racing. Rumors are regular in the Austrian pipeline: a performing rookie, a gap in the standings against Yuki Tsunoda that widens on certain weekends, and the looming shadow of a more prestigious seat. Nothing is set; everything has become plausible.
Piastri ahead, Verstappen in pursuit: the current hierarchy
Oscar Piastri’s victory tilts the season a bit more. The Australian takes the lead in the championship with a 34-point advantage over Lando Norris. It’s a significant capital, even if the calendar still offers reversals. Behind, Max Verstappen salvages the essentials for Red Bull at home, in a race where Ferrari left empty-handed after the retirements of Hamilton and Leclerc.
In the midfield, Williams and Haas reap big, a sign that managing neutralizations and pit windows weighed as much as raw performance. The added value of Hadjar here is having been able to hold his place amid a shifting field.
Ecology: what the performance says about today’s F1
Beyond the result, the technological context matters. F1 aims for carbon neutrality by 2030, with a measured reduction in emissions and a standardization of more efficient logistical tools. By 2026, the cars will adopt 100% sustainable fuels and an increased electric component in the power unit.
• Official commitment: Net Zero 2030.
• 2026 engine regulations: FIA — sustainable fuels and reinforced hybrid architecture and F1 summary.
In this context, Hadjar’s performance is not just a personal feat: it comes at a time when the discipline seeks to value efficiency as much as pure speed. Defending cleanly, optimizing energy, and keeping tires in good condition become central. Zandvoort served as a showcase.
An additional step, not a summit
"It’s a bit unreal," he acknowledged on the microphone, before adding that he hopes for "more podiums." The message is clear: first step, not apotheosis. Three weeks before his 21st birthday, Hadjar hasn’t skipped a level; he has validated the previous one. He will need to confirm at Monza and then in the Asian tour, where tire degradation and air train management will require another form of patience.
Consistency will decide the rest: turning this podium into a habit, transforming an exceptional Sunday into a standard. The Red Bull pipeline loves fast-tracked talents. F1, however, does not forgive mistakes. At Zandvoort, Isack Hadjar showed he knew how to walk this fine line.
References and useful links
• Age: 20 years (as of August 31, 2025).
• Nationality: French and Algerian.
• Height: not disclosed.
• Religion: not publicly disclosed.
• Driver: Isack Hadjar.
• Team: Racing Bulls / Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.
• Winner: Oscar Piastri.
• Runner-up: Max Verstappen.
• Mentioned opponents: Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc), George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton.
• Event: Dutch Grand Prix 2025; Circuit of Zandvoort.
Zandvoort, a podium that changes the game
A podium and a broken trophy: two ways, one sporting, the other anecdotal, to signify the public emergence of a driver. At Zandvoort, Isack Hadjar ceased to be a promise; he became a central player in a shaken midfield. The future will depend on his ability to repeat this level and on Racing Bulls’ ability to support him. For now, the facts speak. And they prove him right.