Has Red Bull's long-running headache finally been solved?

As seasons gone by, it's been far too common sight for one of Red Bulls' drivers to have been eliminated during the first part of a qualifying session with the other vying for the front two rows of the grid. If you thought it was Max Verstappen lining up for tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix in third place, think again...

Rhonan Colquhoun 8:18am 7th March 2026

Red Bull might not necessarily have a solution in finding performance to equal Mercedes at this point in time, but as qualifying in Melbourne showed, they might have a fix to their long-running issue of their “cursed” second car.

For too long, Red Bull have been a one-car team with only Max Verstappen able to get on top of the car’s tricky driving characteristics hence why we’ve seen so many driver changes in the last year or so. First, it was out with Sergio Perez who had far too many lows then highs and who’s form never recovered. Then it was in with Liam Lawson who then was brutally axed after two races and then finally it was in with Yuki Tsunoda who had waited far too long for a chance for promotion who ultimately couldn’t string together results.

It may be far to early to suggest that Red Bull’s headache is finally over but, Isack Hadjar delivered when Red Bull needed him to deliver the most. Hadjar did an exceptional job to lead the class of top drivers behind the Mercedes duo to line-up in third when a number of pundits thought Red Bull were maybe behind the likes of Ferrari and McLaren in the original pecking order.

It’s not a common occurrence that Verstappen has any issues – in fact it was a car issue, not a driver error that sent him spinning into the gravel trap and into the barrier prompting an early exit. Qualifying today was just the third time in five years that he was eliminated from a Q1 session.

Hadjar’s job at the moment, all due respect, is to provide back-up for Verstappen and to learn how to operate in a top team. Any team vying for the Constructors Title need both cars scoring points on a consistent basis and that’s something that has hindered the team for the past two seasons. On the rare occasions when Verstappen isn’t at the sharp end of the field for whatever reason, it’s Hadjar’s job to fly the flag and deliver a result.

The pressure would have incredibly ramped up if Hadjar had been unable to progress to Q3 and eliminated during Q2 for example meaning that Red Bull would indefinitely be on the back foot for the race.

Only time will tell if Red Bull finally have two cars fighting at the front and scoring points on a consistent basis but as a debut for top team, Hadjar has hit the ground smoothly and is already a step ahead of his predecessors.