Isack Hadjar confirmed as Max Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate for 2027 Formula 1 season ahead of Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull have confirmed Isack Hadjar will remain as Max Verstappen's team-mate for the 2027 Formula 1 season.

Hadjar stepped up to Red Bull at the start of this year after an impressive debut campaign with Racing Bulls in 2025 but has missed the last three rounds due to a wrist injury he suffered during last month's summer break.

But the 21-year-old is now fit enough to drive and is back at this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which takes place on Saturday - live on Sky Sports F1.

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Red Bull had already announced last month that four-time world champion Verstappen signed a new contract to stay at the team until at least the end of 2030.

"We're very excited to continue our journey with Isack. Since joining us at the start of the year, he has been superb on and off track, especially considering this is only his second Formula 1 season, which made extending his contract an easy decision," said Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.

"From the very beginning, Isack immersed himself in the team, spending every minute at the factory with his engineers to develop the car, always eager to learn and improve.

"You could see from that first weekend in Melbourne that he handled the step up with remarkable composure and had earned his place in this seat."

The second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen is widely regarded as the toughest on the F1 grid after several drivers including Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda all struggled against the Dutchman.

But, Hadjar has been closer to Verstappen than those drivers and has even got the better of his team-mate at times this season, so his seat has not come under scrutiny.

Despite missing the last three race weekends, Hadjar is still eighth in the Drivers' Championship and reclaimed his Monaco Grand Prix podium after Red Bull and McLaren successfully appealed Gasly's overturned speeding penalties.

"The period since his injury has been a difficult one for Isack, but this extension is a testament to how much we believe in him and we can't wait to see him back out on track," continued Mekies.

"We still have a lot we want to achieve this season, but it's a great feeling to know that the drivers, engineers and everyone back at the factory are all heading in the same direction, committed and together."

Hadjar added: "I am really excited to continue with Oracle Red Bull Racing. I came to this team eight months ago and immediately understood the scale and ambition of this organisation.

"There are so many talented people at the factory, and you're aware of the privilege of driving for such an incredible team alongside a four-time world champion like Max.

"From the moment I signed, I set out to dedicate myself to the team, and with the support of Laurent and everyone in Milton Keynes, I've been able to justify the faith they've had in me. I'm constantly looking to listen, learn and push myself further every single day about what lies ahead."

'If you're good, you stay' - Hadjar on extended deal and injury return

Speaking to the media later on Wednesday in Baku when appearing in the Drivers' Press Conference, Hadjar said he had been completely relaxed about the contract renewal discussions - even claiming he did not know how long the deal was for.

"I didn't even talk about it. You know, I let my people do the talking for me," he said.

"I do it [the talking] on the track and that's about it. So yeah, it was very easy."

And asked whether it was a mufti-year term, Hadjar replied: "I actually don't know. I don't care. Yeah, but, you know, if you're good, you stay, and that's it."

The Frenchman also spoke about the nature of his wrist injury and how his rehabilitation had gone.

"I have a small fracture outside of the wrist and it's just quite a long process," he said.

"I didn't need any surgery, so it's all natural and it takes some time. It's still going to be painful for a while, but now it's going to be six weeks soon and, you know, it says that it's strong enough at the moment to resist the tensions.

"I had a test on the sim, it went well. So, you know, I think it's a similar environment to the cockpit. It's actually, if anything, nearly identical. So, if it's fine on the sim, with the adrenaline on track and everything, I think I should be okay.

"The training sessions have not been fun because I've been doing basically nothing with the left limb. So yeah, it's been a bit boring."

Hadjar's injury was sustained during a routine workout that involved boxing. He said Red Bull had not placed any new restrictions on his training programme as a result, but admitted he needed to just "think twice" in future.

"No. I mean, next time I'll just be more careful," he said.

"You know, maybe strap myself and, yeah, that's it. It happens. There are no restrictions. I'm not five years old, so I just need to think twice before."

What's left to play out in the F1 driver market?

F1's current top four teams - Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have now all locked in their driver line-ups for 2027 with no changes.

Alpine, Williams and Cadillac's drivers are all under contract for 2027 while Audi are set to keep their pairing of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.

That leaves Racing Bulls, Haas and Aston Martin as the only teams yet to nail down their drivers for next year - but there could be changes.

Fernando Alonso is considering his future in the sport and is the biggest stumbling block in the driver market because if he retires, Aston Martin will have a seat available.

Alonso says news "will not come soon" as he's unhappy with the current regulations in F1 which led to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem commenting he wants to accelerate the deficit of Aston Martin's engine supplier Honda.

Britain's Oliver Bearman is set to stay at Haas but his team-mate Esteban Ocon could be without a seat as Haas are expected to give Ferrari junior Rafael Camara his F1 debut for 2027 after an impressive Formula 2 campaign for the Brazilian.

The current F2 championship leader is Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov and history shows Red Bull are keen to give youngsters an F1 opportunity at the earliest opportunity.

However, Red Bull have a tricky decision to make as both current Racing Bulls drivers of Arvid Lindblad and Lawson are performing very well this year, so dropping one of them would be harsh.

Sky Sports F1's Azerbaijan GP live schedule

Thursday September 24
6.55am: F2 Practice
9am: Azerbaijan GP Practice One (session starts at 9.30am)*
10.55am: F2 Qualifying*
12pm: Team Bosses' Press Conference
12.30pm: Azerbaijan GP Practice Two (session starts at 1pm)
2.15pm: The F1 Show

Friday September 25
5.10am: F2 Sprint*
9.15am: Azerbaijan GP Practice Three (session starts at 9.30am)*
11.10am: F2 Feature Race 1*
12.30pm: Azerbaijan GP Qualifying build-up*
1PM: AZERBAIJAN GP QUALIFYING*
3pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Saturday September 26
7.55am: F2 Feature Race 2
10.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Azerbaijan GP build-up*
12PM: THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX*
2pm: Chequered Flag: Azerbaijan GP reaction*
3pm: Ted's Notebook*

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Racing on a Saturday! The 2026 Formula 1 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 this week as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicks off a triple-header of races, with the Baku race taking place on Saturday at midday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Isack Hadjar confirmed as Max Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate for 2027 Formula 1 season ahead of Azerbaijan Grand Prix