Isaac Hajjar believes he was slower than Max Verstappen when he first began working at Pink Bull and says he’s mentally making ready to take care of a “robust” and “irritating” interval in 2026.
Pink Bull will promote Hajjar to companion Verstappen subsequent season, changing Hiroki Tsunoda, who took over from Liam Lawson, for 2 races till 2025. Lawson’s brief stint comes within the wake of Sergio Perez’s struggles, and Hajjar stated he was making an attempt to arrange for a scenario the place he should not examine himself an excessive amount of to his new teammate.
“If something, the objective is to just accept that it may be sluggish for the primary few months,” Hajar stated. “I believe when you get into that mindset, you’ve got already accepted that it may be very tough. It is going to be very irritating while you have a look at the information and see you could’t obtain it but. But when you already know, you are extra ready.
“I do not know. Possibly the way in which I drive this (Racing Bulls) automotive fits me completely. However on the identical time, it is Max Verstappen. He does not have a driving fashion, he adapts to what he is given. That is his power. I believe he’ll do as nicely in subsequent 12 months’s automotive as he did on this 12 months’s automotive and final 12 months. He is all the time adapting too.”
Slightly than seeing this as a defeatist perspective, Hajjar believes different drivers will sit within the Pink Bull seat believing they’ll match Verstappen and never have the ability to address the problem of getting to beat an early deficit.
“I believe they assume the alternative[of me]. Everybody thinks they’re particular. You then are available in and you are like, ‘He is human, I will beat him.'” And then you definitely get trampled. And the snowball impact begins.
“We’re speaking about the most effective driver on the grid. There’s a excellent likelihood that I might be sluggish at the start of the 12 months. Now I would as nicely settle for that and work in the direction of getting there. After all I need to be as quick as him. I hope, however realistically there’s little likelihood.”
