Racing Bulls took driver and management changes in their stride this year, bettering their long-established position in the midfield to claim sixth in the Teams\u2019 Championship. When their two young drivers found their rhythm, they delivered some exceptional performances, but their inexperience showed at times with errors this season. Here is the squad\u2019s end of year report\u2026<\/p>\n
Best finish<\/p>\n
Isack Hadjar \u2013 3rd in the Netherlands<\/p>\n
Fresh off the back of a tense battle for the Formula 2 title with Kick Sauber\u2019s Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a>, Hadjar’s<\/a> season began in the worst possible way when he crashed out on the formation lap at the season opener in Australia. But there were already flashes of his potential, particularly in Qualifying.<\/p>\n He gradually progressed up the order with some strong results before enduring a run of five rounds with just one point, and bouncing back at the Dutch Grand Prix in spectacular fashion. There, he qualified an impressive P4 and benefitted from Lando Norris\u2019 unfortunate retirement to gain a spot and claim his maiden podium and an important 15 points.<\/p>\n His confident performance that day demonstrated that he didn\u2019t just have raw speed, but could also manage a race well and resist pressure, which influenced Red Bull\u2019s decision to promote him to partner Max Verstappen next season.<\/p>\n Qualifying head-to-head<\/p>\n Hadjar 1-1 Tsunoda For the first two rounds of the season, Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> raced alongside Hadjar at Racing Bulls<\/a>, but the call came for him to swap with Lawson and move to Red Bull. While they were relatively close across the season, Hadjar undoubtedly had the edge over his second team mate, outperforming him in Qualifying on 16 occasions.<\/p>\n His best start was the fourth place that kickstarted his drive to the podium at Zandvoort, and he followed that up with another top-five start at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. On one of the six weekends when Lawson<\/a> outqualified the Frenchman, he did it in style, taking advantage of a chaotic session in Azerbaijan to secure P3 on the grid behind Verstappen and Williams\u2019 Carlos Sainz.<\/p>\n Race head-to-head<\/p>\n Hadjar 1-1 Tsunoda Their race head-to-head paints a similar picture with Hadjar edging out the Kiwi at 13 events to eight, which is also reflected in their points total \u2013 the rookie ended the season on 51, narrowly missing out on a spot in the top 10, with Lawson accumulating 38.<\/p>\n Lawson did break into the top 10 in Monaco, where Racing Bulls achieved a double points finish, but his best result of the year came at Baku where he took the chequered flag in fifth place.<\/p>\n *No score is awarded for the British Grand Prix as both drivers retired<\/p>\n Best moment<\/p>\n Standing on the podium in your rookie season is a remarkable feat no matter what, but the fact that Hadjar\u2019s P3 at Zandvoort was the team\u2019s first since Pierre Gasly in 2021, when they competed under the moniker of AlphaTauri, made it all the more momentous.<\/p>\n He was one of nine drivers to make it to the rostrum in the Grand Prix format, joining fellow midfield drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz, both of whom achieved their first podiums with Kick Sauber and Williams respectively.<\/p>\n
Hadjar 16-6 Liam Lawson<\/p>\n
Hadjar 13-8 Lawson*<\/p>\n