Isack Hadjar has adopted a unique approach to his first season with Red Bull, accepting that he is "going to be slower" than his new team-mate, Max Verstappen, at the start of his career with the team.

The French-Algerian prospect was the surprise package of the 2025 campaign, out-scoring team-mate Liam Lawson by 13 points and even scoring a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix in late August. For most, Hadjar was the strongest rookie in the field, going way beyond pre-season expectations.

His performances were rewarded with a promotion after Yuki Tsunoda became the latest Red Bull recruit to falter in the spotlight alongside Verstappen. The Japanese racer could only finish 17th in the standings while his team-mate finished just two points behind world champion Lando Norris.

Hadjar would be right to worry about his chances. Verstappen counts Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Lawson and Tsunoda among his victims in the intra-team head-to-head, and in recent years, the performance gap between the two Red Bull garages has widened dramatically.

The 21-year-old is approaching things differently, though. "If anything, the goal is to accept that I'm going to be slower the first months," Hadjar explained. "I think that if you go into that mindset, you accept already that it's going to be very tough - looking at the data and seeing things you can't achieve yet, it's going to be very frustrating.

"But if you know, then you're more prepared. You never know. Maybe the way you have to drive this [Racing Bulls] car is suiting me perfectly. But at the same time, it's Max Verstappen.

"He doesn't have a driving style; he adapts to what he's given. That's what makes his strength. He's going to be as good in next year's car as he is in this year's car and as he was the year before. He's constantly adapting too."

He added: "I think they think the opposite [of me]. Everyone thinks they are special. Then you come in, you're like, 'He's a human, I'm going to beat him.' Then you get stomped over. And then the snowball effect starts.

"We're talking about the best driver on the grid. The chance that I'm slower at the start of the year is very high. I might as well accept it now and just work towards getting there. Of course, I'm hoping to be as fast as him. I'm hoping, but realistically, there's very few chances."