Isack Hadjar was born on September 28th, 2004 to Yassine and Randa Hadjar in Paris, France. While the young driver races under a French flag, his parents orginally hail from Algeria. His father holds a PhD in quantum physics and currently works at the University of Technology of Troyes, France. He is an R&D senior scientist, while his mother is an HR director for a public company. Hadjar’s parents have both been a part of the F1 star’s growing career. His dad acted as his mechanic during the 20-year-old’s early days in karting, while his mom has now taken up the role as his manager.
How did Isack Hadjar’s parents play a part in growing his racing career?
When Isack Hadjar was five-years-old, his father, Yassine, rented a kart for him, kicking off his racing career.
“When I was five, he put me in a rental kart, and I found it terrifying. Two years later, he signed me up for a course outside Paris – one session every other Sunday. Eventually, the instructor told my dad, ‘Your son is good. You should buy him a kart and let him race.’”
Isack Hadjar was handed some conditions by his parents about getting involved in racing once they had their own kart.
“If you want to do something, you commit to it. But it was understood that I had to excel – otherwise they wouldn’t support what had become my dream.”
Yassine became his son’s mechanic, devoting all the available time he had to taking the budding racecar driver to competitions. Once his career started taking off, Isack’s mother also got involved.
“He hates mechanics, but he became my mechanic just for me. Weekends at the track, long drives – he gave all his free time to me. Then, once I started getting results, things became more serious and my mother stepped in.” [Quotes via Motorsport.com]
Randa Hadjar, using the connections she had established through her professional career, secured the funding for her son, that has allowed him to go into the world of single-seater racing.
What was the career trajectory of Isack Hadjar post-karting?
Thanks to the efforts of his parents, Isack Hadjar joined competitive karting in 2012. He took part in the FIA Karting World Championship in 2018, where he finished in 22nd place. The following year, he made his move to the world of single-seaters, joining the French F4 championship in 2019. During his debut season, he scored four wins and finished third in the standings.
In 2021, Hadjar competed in the Formula Regional European Championship and drove in the F3 Asian series. The next year, Isack Hadjar made his debut in F3, achieving three wins and five podiums. He competed in F2 in 2023 and 2024, where he finished in 14th and second place in the standings respectively. The French-Algerian then made his F1 debut this season.
Over the course of this season, Isack Hadjar has scored a total of 15 points. This puts him in 10th place in the standings. He is also the second-highest ranking rookie this year, behind the likes of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
