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Halfway through Isack Hadjar’s first season at Red Bull he lies just two places behind team mate Max Verstappen in the championship. That is significantly better than his much more experienced predecessor Yuki Tsunoda managed last year: while Verstappen came within two points of winning the title, the other Red Bull driver finished 15 places behind.But how far might the change in Red Bull’s competitiveness this year be helping Hadjar to get closer to his illustrious team mate than Tsunoda and other past Red Bull drivers? @F1statsfan offers a view: I think Hadjar is doing a very decent job but there are a few things that in my honest opinion are flattering Hadjar. • Red Bull car is unpredictable making it difficult for both drivers to drive it on the edge – something that the new regulations seem to penalise – that driving on the edge is where the gap between Max and his team mates tend to widen – where Max finds a few extra tenths his team mate fail mostly. • In 2024 and 2025 the gap between first and last in qualifying was much closer meaning being an extra tenth off meant not going to Q2 or Q3 or starting ninth instead of sixth. Similar in the race – even champion contenders didn’t easily went from back to front like we have seen in some years and now again in 2026. So mistakes by drivers in top teams are less severely punished. • Red Bull being third or fourth team – the biggest gaps in points are at the top – if Hadjar finishes three places behind Max each race than if Max wins it is 10 points while if Max finishes seventh it is just five points. @F1statsfan Join the original discussion here: Verstappen vs Hadjar: 2026 F1 team mates’ head-to-head scores at summer break Formula 1 - Albon signs new deal to remain at Williams in 2027 - Alonso vs Stroll: 2026 F1 team mates’ head-to-head scores at summer break - Sainz Jnr vs Albon: 2026 team mates head-to-head at summer break - Poll: Is F1 risking too much by letting drivers set qualifying times under yellow flags? - History: 50 years since the last time a woman started a Formula 1 race