Isack Hadjar says he can’t hide that Laurent Mekies’ promotion as Red Bull team principal could play in his favour as he works towards a Red Bull promotion.
Hadjar was present at the squad’s Milton Keynes factory when news of Christian Horner’s sacking broke, followed by confirmation of Mekies’ promotion.
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Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Days after the British Grand Prix, Red Bull shocked the Formula 1 paddock when it was announced that Horner had been “released from his operational duties” with immediate effect.
Mekies was announced as the Briton’s replacement, with Alan Permane taking over as Racing Bulls team principal.
It seems amongst Red Bull drivers past and present, no one saw it coming.
Speaking with the media, including PlanetF1.com, in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix, Racing Bulls driver Hadjar was asked when he had found out about Horner’s axing as it had come as a ‘sudden shock’ to the media.
“Me too,” Hadjar admitted.
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The Frenchman wasn’t given any warning about the announcement, revealing he found out that morning as he “was at the factory on the sim, so I was there.”
The sudden shift in leadership means after just 12 races in his fledgling Formula 1 career, Hadjar is onto his second team boss.
Saying farewell to Mekies, at least for now, the 20-year-old does not think there will be a huge change in atmosphere within Racing Bulls. Red Bull may be a different story.
“I mean, a bit of if anything for the engineers and mechanics, I think Laurent was really appreciated in the team, so bit of sadness, obviously,” he said.
“But no, we are not as concerned as Red Bull Racing.
“So nothing major, it’s just a bit sad that he’s leaving, but that’s how it is.”
Hadjar, though, could be reunited with Mekies next year as the 20-year-old is being tipped to replace Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s next team-mate.
Asked if that would be a help if he joined Red Bull, he replied: “I guess if I had to work with him it would be easier, that’s for sure. More familiar. So, yeah, I would say so.”
It could even help him secure the Red Bull drive.
“I can’t hide, it’s useful,” Hadjar admitted of his relationship with Mekies.
“12 more races. So, yeah, I need to keep pushing. You’re as good as your last race at all times.”
For now, Hadjar is under Permane’s leadership.
Permane has been involved in Formula 1 since 1989, initially with Renault (though it’s various guises) before joining Racing Bulls as sporting director at the beginning of last year. He became team principal two weeks ago.
Hadjar says the news is “major,” but “to be fair it doesn’t really change much for me at the minute.
“Alan is someone I know really well. We’ve worked… he was always quiet and you don’t see him often, but he’s a big part of the team so far.
“I think he’s the one next to my race engineer, the one I’ve worked with the most. He’s the guy who takes the final decision on car set-up.
“He’s been very close to Laurent. Laurent has built something very solid over the last two years, and now he’s just taking it.
“So yeah, it doesn’t change anything to the team and to my approach.”
Hadjar is 11th in the Drivers’ standings in his rookie season having scored 21 points, 11 more than Tsunoda who started the season with Racing Bulls before he was promoted to Red Bull at round three, the Japanese GP.
The Japanese driver has struggled in the RB21, scoring just seven points in 10 starts leading to speculation Hadjar will replace him at the end of the season with Tsunoda assured by Helmut Marko that there won’t be another driver change this season.
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