Head-to-head · season 2026

IsackHadjarRed Bull Racing vs MaxVerstappenRed Bull Racing

VER leads the grade duel 10–1 — across the 13 rounds both were rated in, the car stripped out of the equation.

VS
#20The Index · 6.81
P17DI championship · 25 pts
0best-of-race
P8official · 71 pts
#1The Index · 9.79
P1DI championship · 139 pts
2best-of-race
P6official · 115 pts

Isack Hadjar vs Max Verstappen: who is driving better in 2026?

the verdict, from the numbers

Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen are Red Bull Racing team mates this season, which makes this the cleanest comparison in Formula 1: two drivers, the same machinery, the same strategy calls. Max Verstappen leads on The Index, 9.79 to 6.81 — P1 against P20, a gap of 2.99 of a grade point. Round by round, Max Verstappen has out-driven the other in 10 of 11 races where both were graded. Isack Hadjar's clearest advantage is Race Start — 7.77 against 7.24. Max Verstappen takes Expected Position back the other way, 10.00 to 7.03. They are effectively inseparable on Tyre Management. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Max Verstappen sits P1 on 139 points to Isack Hadjar's P17 on 25. Officially they stand P6 and P8.

The nine dimensions

season averages, mirrored — the longer bar wins the metric
7.03 A Expected Position 10.00
7.47 B Race Pace 9.84
8.00 C Consistency 9.34
6.99 D Attack & Defence 9.83
7.94 E Tyre Management 7.89
7.72 F Qualifying 8.60
7.77 G Race Start 7.24
8.84 I Cleanliness 8.51

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Race grade, round by round

gaps = not classified