“I think it was the most natural part of the process to get Isack in,” said Mekies. “He was very, very clearly the next one in line in terms of the Red Bull young driver programme.
“We were following him for quite a while already, and then we got a bit of time together in the final races of the season and the decision came pretty much… You [the media] knew about it at pretty much the time that it was made, but it was an easy one.”
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Hadjar – who narrowly missed out on the F2 title to Kick Sauber’s new signing Gabriel Bortoleto – added of the moment he found out about the promotion: “Officially, I found out after Abu Dhabi. When I stepped up to [being the] reserve [driver], I was just focused on trying to win the F2 title and learning in this new environment as much as possible.”
And when pushed on whether getting his opportunity in F1 made up for not winning the Formula 2 championship, Hadjar responded: “My goal is not to be an F2 champion, it’s to be F1 World Champion, so I’m fine.”
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