Isack Hadjar is falling into a very familiar pattern in the second Red Bull seat.
Following the upgrades introduced in Miami, Max Verstappen found a new level of synergy with the car. His new teammate however, trailed further behind.
After being disqualified from qualifying, Hadjar crashed out of the race on Monday (AEST) and left Hard Rock Stadium empty-handed and "pissed off" at his costly error.
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"This was a tough one, just like breaking the car is pissing me off a lot," he said.
"I think that was easy points, considering the car I had. I just threw it all away.
"I can't really remember (the crash), because it went by very quickly. So I don't have very good memory of exactly what happened, just felt like a big hit.
"I just didn't see it coming, and then the car was broken. I went in the other wall, couldn't stop it. It just shows how much you need to be focused, and I wasn't."
This loss of confidence has become a hallmark for both young and experienced drivers tasked with partnering arguably one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history.
It is difficult to recall a time when Red Bull's second seat was truly locked in since Daniel Ricciardo's departure at the end of 2018.
Since then, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have all tried their hand and been brushed aside.
Perez lifted the lid in 2025 regarding the psychological toll of being Verstappen's teammate, offering a grim perspective on the second seat curse.
"The minute I signed my exit deal with Red Bull, I knew that 'poor guy who comes here' because it's a very difficult place," he admitted.
"Obviously, being next to Max is very difficult, but being next to Max in Red Bull is something people don't understand, and there are so many things that I could tell, but simply it's a very difficult job for a driver.
"There is no driver that can survive there. It doesn't matter if you bring a Hamilton or a Leclerc; whoever you bring is going to struggle massively.
"It's a very unique driving style you have to constantly be adapting to the needs of Max, simple as that."
Hadjar earned his 2026 seat after a breakout rookie campaign in 2025 with Racing Bulls, highlighted by a podium in the Netherlands, effectively displacing Tsunoda.
However, he is now encountering the same technical wall that most of the Red Bull rejects have faced.
A DNF result in Melbourne and Miami, 12th in Japan and his only points haul coming after an eighth place result in China – it's not been the start Hadjar would have wanted in the senior team.
It should be mentioned, Hadjar is inheriting a completely new Red Bull package that is currently looking like the third-best car in the field, not the quickest car like others had.
But the upgrades Red Bull brought to Miami allowed Verstappen to come alive in his typical style.
He claimed second position on the grid in qualifying and if not for a spin on the opening lap, would have surely been in the mix for the victory.
Albon earlier described this game of never ending catch-up that Verstappen's teammates face once the Dutchman finds his rhythm.
He argued that the longer Verstappen is driving the car with new upgrades, the more the Dutchman becomes confident, while his Red Bull teammates battle their waning confidence.
"Many people say that the car is built for him, he's a bit like Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. He has created this team around him, but the truth is that the car is what it is. He is very fast, and he has a unique driving style, it's not so easy to adapt to it," Albon said on the High Performance podcast.
"Everyone has their own driving style. Max – his level of sensitivity and sharpness regarding the front end is on a whole other level.
"It's like turning the sensitivity up (on a computer) to the maximum, moving the mouse, and having it move all over the screen. It's a bit like what you feel, it becomes so fast that you become tense.
"What ended up happening … you start off being slightly less fast but not by much.
"And then as the season progresses and Max wants the front end to be sharper and it becomes sharper, Max gets faster and faster.
"To catch up on your delay, you must take a little more risk. And when you know that you only have a few attempts left before the final session, you try a little harder and then, 'okay, I went out, I crashed'.
"So you have to start over, you have lost some confidence and it takes a little more time.
"The gap widens a bit and then the next time you try to go out, you will spin out again. And it starts to have a snowball effect and each time the car becomes livelier, you start to get more tense."
Hadjar must now find a way to break this cycle quickly.
Unlike previous years, the safety net of a 'demotion' to Racing Bulls is vanishing.
Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad are driving like a formidable duo for the squad and Hadjar has nowhere to go but out.
While the departure of the famously 'trigger-happy' Helmut Marko from the Red Bull outfit may grant Hadjar a slightly longer leash than his predecessors, the pressure is mounting as auditions in the cursed Red Bull seat are famously quick and unforgiving.
Formula 1 resumes back on track in Montreal, Canada, with the next race set for May 25.
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