Performance was lacking, as shown by his mammoth deficit both to pacesetter George Russell<\/a> and to team-mate Max Verstappen<\/a>, but at least he wasn\u2019t being struck by reliability issues \u2013 yet.<\/p>\n Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: James Sutton \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Sprint qualifying<\/p>\n Position: 9th Hadjar\u2019s lack of speed was confirmed in the first competitive session of the weekend. He was outpaced by Verstappen by 0.705s in SQ1 and 0.246s in SQ2, before his sole SQ3 time was deleted over a track-limit breach \u2013 but on that lap he was 0.892s slower than his team-mate anyway, so that only cost him one position.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know,\u201d a puzzled Hadjar pondered. \u201cIt’s just, what seemed like a good start of the day turned into a very poor performance. I felt very comfortable straight away in FP1, but on the hard compound, and that was it, really.<\/p>\n \u201cI never got to have a good lap, really. I’m just fighting with the car. I had engine issues on the last run. I was just struggling. I don’t know, it’s just weird.\u201d<\/p>\n Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Sprint race<\/p>\n Position: DNF<\/p>\n Hadjar maintained ninth position at the start of a wet sprint, but he was overtaken by Pierre Gasly<\/a> and Oliver Bearman<\/a> on lap one, then was taken out of the race by a power unit failure on lap three.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really have power at the start, it sounded very bad, then I had to retire the car. Very straightforward,\u201d is how the Red Bull driver summed his race up.<\/p>\n Even the RB22\u2019s recovery went wrong: \u201cMy car caught fire and stuff \u2013 just a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Qualifying<\/p>\n Position: Not classified (no lap time)<\/p>\n If Hadjar was hoping for a better time in the main qualifying session, he was swiftly disappointed.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old stopped on track with what he subsequently described as a \u2018broken fourth gear\u2019, managed to restart his car and pitted. His second attempt went no better; he regretfully returned to the pitlane and did not emerge back out.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have an issue in quali, in the sprint, and you have another issue in the other qualifying… I don’t know, I’m not an engineer, but it’s bad momentum mechanically speaking,\u201d Hadjar rued.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s pissing me off because I just want to drive. I just want to get to it and go new tyre after new tyre, and now I don’t get to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m just really, really pissed off.\u201d<\/p>\n Hadjar\u2019s frustration was compounded by marshals calling him to the weighbridge as he was facing those technical issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m like, come on, I’m barely managing to keep it rolling, and then you ask me to turn off the engine, to turn it back on \u2013 using the clutch, pulling first gear, like, it’s just not nice,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s just really annoying.\u201d<\/p>\n Hence Hadjar\u2019s conclusion: \u201cI could have stayed back in Paris, it would have been the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Mark Thompson \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Race<\/p>\n Position: 10th After completing just five laps \u2013 at a slow pace \u2013 on Saturday, Hadjar\u2019s Sunday was likely to go better, and it did.<\/p>\n Starting from the pitlane, the Red Bull racer made tentative but steady progress. He gained two places on lap one before performing a number of overtakes \u2013 with the decisive one for the final point coming on lap 58, against Pierre Gasly.<\/p>\n Hadjar again reported \u201cengine issues\u201d after the race \u2013 \u201cthe usual\u201d, he sarcastically commented \u2013 but he was slightly less downbeat than before.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point I said, \u2018This is a train, I’m never going to finish in the top 10\u2019,\u201d he related. \u201cOn that soft tyre I knew I had good pace to unlock, but I didn’t think I would be that fast.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m quite happy about that, but I would have liked to make use of that pace to fight for a win.<\/p>\n Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Joe Portlock \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n He added: \u201cNow, since Malaysia, I’m just desperate to have a car that’s working a bit better, on my side, to fight for a win, because at the moment it’s not possible to fight. So now we need to reset, understand what happened since Sunday in Malaysia, to make sure we come back in Austin and fight for podiums.\u201d<\/p>\n This was undeniably the conclusion of a tough weekend for Hadjar, but when this was suggested to him, he keenly shifted the focus to his squad\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was definitely not very challenging, you know, it was challenging for my mechanics,\u201d he remarked. \u201cThey suffered quite a lot for just one point. It’s definitely their weekend, and they deserve better, so we’ll try again.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Jake Boxall-Legge<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n We want your opinion!<\/p>\n What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n![\"Isack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791966610_816_isack-hadjar-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
No lap time in Q3<\/p>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791966611_61_max-verstappen-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Isack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791966611_381_isack-hadjar-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Laurent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791966612_788_laurent-mekies-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Gap to winner: 1m30.862s
Gap to Verstappen: 1m30.862s<\/p>\n![\"Fernando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791966613_61_fernando-alonso-aston-martin-r.jpg\")
<\/p>\n