Every few months, Formula 1 fandom finds a fresh argument to tear itself apart over. This season's version has been simmering for months: is Isack Hadjar already the best Max Verstappen teammate since Daniel Ricciardo? Spicy question. It's also one that falls apart the moment you poke at it - unless you know exactly where to look. So before the group chats go nuclear, let's handle the boring part first.
| Driver | Verstappen Teammate Stint | Defining Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Pierre Gasly | 2019 (part-season) | Demoted mid-year, crushed by the pressure |
| Alex Albon | 2019 - 2020 | Spirit unbroken, seat lost anyway |
| Sergio Pérez | 2021 - 2024 | Wins and title help, then a long fade |
| Liam Lawson | 2025 (early stint) | Brief, brutal, gone in a flash |
| Isack Hadjar | Needs verification for 2026 | The whole debate hinges here |
The Premise Check: Is Hadjar Even Verstappen's Teammate?
Brutal truth time. As of late September 2026, the label "Verstappen's teammate" may not belong to Isack Hadjar at all. His standing inside the Red Bull empire is the entire ballgame, and it's the first thing fans should verify against official 2026 entry lists before firing off takes. If Hadjar still wears Racing Bulls colors - the sister team that launched his F1 career - he isn't Verstappen's teammate. He's the guy in the other garage, and this headline dies quietly as a hypothetical. But if Red Bull handed him the senior seat for 2026? Now we have something worth arguing about across a full season of data.
That promotion is the hinge on which this entire debate swings. Hadjar arrived in F1 with real junior pedigree and a reputation for raw pace. Reputation, though, doesn't survive contact with the Red Bull second seat. So before crowning anyone, check the verified lineup. According to the official Formula 1 driver lineup, the senior Red Bull pairing is the only thing that makes this comparison real.
Why the Ricciardo Bar Is So Brutal to Clear
The Ghost of 2016 - 2018
Daniel Ricciardo isn't just the benchmark - he's a borderline unfair one. Between 2016 and 2018, he was the only teammate who consistently traded blows with Verstappen. He stole wins. He out-qualified him on his day. He turned "Max's teammate" into an actual fight instead of a formality. That's the standard. Nobody has touched it since.
The Graveyard of Second Seats
Since Ricciardo walked away, the Red Bull second seat has chewed up quality drivers and spat them out. Gasly, Albon, Pérez, Lawson - each one arrived with hype and left with scars. Pérez's early wins made him the closest thing to a success story, but even his tenure curdled badly in the end. The pattern is real: Verstappen's teammate isn't a job, it's a pressure test with a scoreboard.
📊 Only one Verstappen teammate since 2019 has won multiple races in a Red Bull seat - Sergio Pérez, and even he eventually lost the ride.
So the moment you ask whether Hadjar is the best since Ricciardo, you're really asking whether he has survived that test better than everyone else. That's a story told with 2026 results - not vibes.
The Verdict Framework: What Would Actually Settle This
Here's how we'd grade any Verstappen teammate, Hadjar included - the only honest scorecard that exists.
| Metric | Why It Matters | Ricciardo Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying gap to Verstappen | Minimizing damage is step one | Consistently close |
| Points and podiums under pressure | One flashy weekend isn't enough | Multiple wins, podiums |
| Survival | Keeping the seat and the faith | Three full seasons |
| 2026 regulations context | New era resets the deck | N/A (different era) |
📊 Ricciardo is the only Verstappen teammate to survive three full seasons alongside him - everyone since has lasted two years or fewer.
