Former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese believes Isack Hadjar could be the first driver to trouble Max Verstappen as a new Red Bull racer, as he looks set to make his mark as his teammate.
“It will be difficult being number two to Max but, if you want to show to the world that you are a possible world champion, you need to compare yourself with a person like Max,” Patrese told Express Sport, via BetVictor. “Especially the first season, maybe he cannot beat Max – but he can put in a good performance against him.
“Then, being close to a champion like him, he can learn a lot and maybe the next season he can really trouble Max, if he’s good enough. We’ll see. We saw last year that he was good and now he has a chance – not an easy chance, but everybody who is young coming into the sport has to fight with an experienced driver. He has to prove himself and believe in himself, otherwise you cannot believe that he can be good enough to be world champion.”
Read more on Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar here.