Red Bull F1's newest star picked Lewis Hamilton over Max Verstappen in GOAT call
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The latest graduate of the Red Bull academy to make it to Formula 1 has previously admitted rival Lewis Hamilton is the best driver the sport has ever seen. Isack Hadjar finished as runner-up in the Formula 2 championship this year, behind title-winner Gabriel Bortoleto. Both will race in the top single seater category in 2025, Bortoleto leaving the McLaren academy to sign for Sauber while Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull's sister squad.
But despite having been a member of the Red Bull development programme since 2022, the French-Algerian racer clearly doesn't let those loyalties cloud his opinions. Speaking last year to Formula2.com, when four-time champion Max Verstappen had only won two of those titles, Hadjar admitted his belief that Mercedes rival Hamilton is the best of all time.
He said: "I grew up watching him. Since I was three years old, I've always been a fan of him and rooting for him until he won seven titles. I was really happy to actually be supporting the guy who was winning everything and I think he's the most complete driver out there.
"Since I started single-seater racing, I got interested in Formula 1 even more and it was clear to me that Lewis was the guy to beat and the reference for me, so I've always looked up to him as the GOAT. I really love the guy and he just inspires me so much in everything I do.
"When I got into single-seaters, I actually started to understand how good he was because you're in go-karts and you watch F1, you don't really know what it is like to drive a racing car. When I started looking at him properly and seriously, I was like this guy is way too good.
