Isack Hadjar will be one of the headline guests at the 2026 Grand Prix de France Historique, held at the Circuit Paul-Ricard on May 8–10. The Red Bull Racing driver will take the wheel of the Red Bull RB7 during the event’s showpiece « Fast & Famous » segment on Saturday May 9 — driving the car that dominated Formula 1’s 2011 season and delivered Sebastian Vettel his second world championship title.

The Car: An Adrian Newey Masterpiece

The RB7 is one of the most dominant cars in modern Formula 1 history. Designed by Adrian Newey — now Hadjar’s managing technical partner at Red Bull Racing — it powered the team to 12 victories across the 2011 season, 11 of which went to Vettel on his way to the championship. Propelled by a Renault V8, the car was at once technically exquisite and visually striking, representing the height of Red Bull’s first era of dominance.

The choice of car carries particular resonance for Hadjar. Growing up in Paris watching Formula 1 on television, it was precisely the Vettel-era Red Bulls — including the RB7 — that first captivated him. As a child, he watched Vettel claim one title after another at the wheel of these machines. Now, as Vettel’s successor of sorts at the same team, he will pilot the car that defined that era in front of a French audience.

« Driving in front of my home crowd is always something I look forward to, and doing it as a Red Bull Racing driver makes it even more special. Sharing the track with some of the greatest French Formula 1 drivers will be a very important moment for me personally. The RB7 is such an iconic car, and driving it alongside legends of our sport that I admired growing up feels like coming full circle. »

— Isack Hadjar

Legends on Track — A Celebration of French Motorsport

Hadjar will share the circuit with several pillars of French motorsport history during the Fast & Famous programme. The event brings together Alain Prost, René Arnoux, Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis, and Philippe Alliot — drivers who between them span more than four decades of French representation at the highest level of the sport. For Hadjar, the youngest current French driver on the Formula 1 grid, the appearance is both personal milestone and symbolic torchpassing.

Red Bull’s involvement extends beyond Hadjar’s demonstration run. The team will also offer paddock meet-and-greets, on-track animations, and appearances from ambassadors throughout the weekend, making the Paul-Ricard event a significant showcase for the programme in France.

A Welcome Change of Scenery

The timing of the event — the weekend of May 8–10, just days after the Miami Grand Prix — offers Hadjar a rare chance to step away from the pressure of a difficult start to the F1 season. Red Bull has struggled with the 2026 regulations, leaving Hadjar frequently battling in the midfield. In Japan, he crossed the line 12th after losing battery power at a critical moment in the opening laps, describing the car as « really undriveable — and even dangerous » on that day.

The Grand Prix de France Historique, by contrast, is pure celebration — 225 cars, more than 60 of them Formula 1 machines spanning the 1970s to 2010s, on the sun-bleached tarmac of Le Castellet. For Hadjar, it is a chance to reconnect with what drew him to the sport in the first place: the sound of the engines, the spectacle, and the fans. And to do it at the wheel of a car he watched win races as a Paris schoolboy is something he clearly holds close.