Hadjar is Verstappen's toughest Red Bull team-mate since Ricciardo, says Buxton

Red Bull’s driver management problem is growing more complex, with broadcaster Will Buxton arguing that rookie Isack Hadjar is the most competitive team-mate Max Verstappen has faced at the Milton Keynes outfit since Daniel Ricciardo. Buxton made the assessment on the Up To Speed podcast alongside former F1 driver David Coulthard.

With paddock speculation continuing over an exit clause in Verstappen’s contract, Buxton pointed out that Red Bull now has more high-performing drivers than it has seats across its two teams — Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls.

“Red Bull do find themselves once again in a quandary where they have too many drivers for their seats, whether Max stays or gets swapped out for another driver or whoever, if rumours are to be believed,” Buxton said. “Hadjar, I’d argue, is probably the best team-mate Max Verstappen has had since Daniel Ricciardo in terms of how close he is to him. So, Hadjar’s doing a stellar job. [Arvid] Lindblad, stellar job. [Liam] Lawson, stellar job.”

The logjam does not end there. Bulgarian F2 driver Nikola Tsolov has won three consecutive races, including back-to-back feature race victories. Buxton noted the significance of that run given F2’s reverse-grid sprint format, which makes consecutive wins particularly difficult to achieve. Tsolov completed the feature-and-sprint double at Silverstone.

“Now, they’ve got another driver headache,” Buxton added.

Coulthard was more sanguine about the situation, framing it as a sign of Red Bull’s long-standing strength in driver development rather than a crisis. “It’s a good problem to have,” he said. “I think Red Bull is ahead of the game in terms of its motorsport investment and drivers over the history of time.”

Coulthard also offered an early endorsement of Tsolov as an eventual Formula 1 prospect. “Listen for that name. Nikola Tsolov from Bulgaria drives very well. He has a great personality out of the car as well. So, yeah, looking forward to seeing him in Formula 1.”

With Verstappen’s future at Red Bull still uncertain and three junior drivers performing at a high level simultaneously, the team faces increasingly difficult decisions about how to manage a talent pipeline that may be outpacing the available seats.