New Red Bull signing Isack Hadjar has said his bounce back from devastation at crashing out of his debut race proved a key strength.
The French driver crashed out on the formation lap at the Australian Grand Prix, meaning he didn’t get to take the start of his debut race in Formula 1.
Isack Hadjar: Australia crash ‘part of my history’
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Making his debut in Formula 1 at the start of the 2025 season, Hadjar had qualified an impressive 11th for the calendar-opener in Melbourne.
But attempting to warm up his tyres in tricky wet conditions at the Albert Park circuit, Hadjar lost control of the rear of his Racing Bulls machine exiting Turn 1.
Spinning off backwards into the barriers, he damaged his car to the point where he could not continue and, as a result, failed to make the start of his debut race.
Having spent the winter building up to such a momentous occasion, the enormity of his error hit hard, and a disconsolate Hadjar was visibly emotional as he returned to the paddock, with Lewis Hamilton’s father, Anthony, making a point of seeking him out to comfort him.
While Hadjar’s emotional response didn’t impress then-Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, the rest of his season did.
Hadjar bounced back strongly to become a regular points scorer and even secured a maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix by finishing third at Zandvoort.
So impressive was Hadjar’s season that, with Yuki Tsunoda struggling in the RB21, Red Bull opted to turn to the French driver and promote him from Racing Bulls into the seat alongside Max Verstappen for the F1 2026 championship.
Australia may now be a distant memory, but Hadjar said that day at Albert Park did go a long way towards proving his own mental fortitude.
“Yeah, but you can also look at maybe I would have scored points in Melbourne and then have a good season after that, too, you know?” he told PlanetF1.com and select media, after the news of his promotion to the senior team, when asked if getting the low of Australia out of the way early had actually been beneficial.
“But I believe everything happens for a reason, and you move on.
“So it’s part of my history, my first F1 start, I didn’t take part in it, which sucks still, but it’s how it is.
“It just proved to me… I know I have a strong ability to get back up to my feet, but this was just another big punch in the face, and I took it.
“I handled it very well, and it reinforced this belief I have in myself.”
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During a season of many highs, Hadjar could be noticeably morose after a session if he had been outqualified by his teammate Liam Lawson or if he felt that he had left time on the table.
Setting exacting standards for himself and holding himself accountable for not meeting those standards appears to have impressed Red Bull en route to his promotion, but Hadjar believes the pressure he put himself under may have been occasionally detrimental to performing to the best of his abilities.
“I noticed this, I have my expectations, and what I was willing to do was sometimes too high for the abilities I have at the moment,” he said.
“So, in qualifying, I’m always mad because I didn’t get the perfect lap, like I didn’t maximise every corner, every braking, and there’s always something missing.
“At the same time, it’s just my first year. So, if anything, I was maybe being too hard and leading to some mistakes at times, because I put myself [under] so much pressure to deliver, and being at the standards I want to, it leads to mistakes.”
While these high standards could be interpreted as being in response to knowing he needed a big year in order to secure an F1 career beyond a single season, with Red Bull and Marko notoriously difficult to impress, Hadjar said the mindset has been instilled in him long before reaching F1.
“It’s always been like this,” he said.
“You’ll never catch me with a smile if I didn’t do the job, even if the result is incredible. If the job is not done properly, then I’m not interested.”
With this mindset proving to be enough to secure a rise into the senior team alongside the four-time F1 World Champion, Hadjar revealed that his first port of call in any setback has been to blame himself, first and foremost, rather than point the finger at his car or his team.
“It’s always my fault, and then maybe I think of the car,” he said.
“It’s always me first. It’s very extreme, but it’s better this way than the other way around, that’s for sure.”
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