UPDATE 1-Motor racing-Hadjar joins Tsunoda in RB lineup for 2025

(Adds details, quotes)

Dec 20 (Reuters) – French-Algerian driver Isack Hadjar will race for Red Bull-owned RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda next season, the Formula One team said on Friday.

Formula Two runner-up Hadjar takes the place of New Zealander Liam Lawson, confirmed on Thursday as team mate to four-times world champion Max Verstappen at the main Red Bull team.

“The journey from karting through the ranks in single-seaters, to now being in Formula One is the moment I’ve been working towards my whole life, it is the dream,” Hadjar said in a statement.

“I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new universe, driving a much faster car and racing with the best drivers in the world. It’ll be a huge learning curve but I’m ready to work hard and do the best I can for the team.”

Lawson, 22, has replaced

Mexican Sergio Perez

, whose dramatic collapse in form this season led to him being dropped despite having a contract for next year.

Hadjar will be the third French driver on the 20-car starting grid next season, along with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’s Esteban Ocon. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Alison Williams and Pritha Sarkar)

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