Isack Hadjar read the social media reaction to his crash behind closed doors in Barcelona recently, and joked that the level of response would make him think he was “screwed for the whole season”.
Hadjar connected with the barriers out of the fast final corner at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in January shakedown running, but the responses he saw on social media in fact helped him get over that blip in his first Red Bull running.
Isack Hadjar jokes about social media reaction after Barcelona incident
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Both Hadjar himself and the Red Bull team remained diplomatic after that moment, with the French driver putting some of the reasoning behind his accident down to the switch from wet to intermediate tyres in Barcelona.
Team principal Laurent Mekies added that it was “very unfortunate that it finished that way, but it’s part of the game”, going on to highlight the early positives from Hadjar after stepping up from Racing Bulls.
The 21-year-old went on to complete two-and-a-half Grand Prix distances around Bahrain in official testing this week, logging 146 laps in his time behind the wheel as he prepares for the season ahead.
With other drivers having struggled to adapt to the step up from Red Bull’s sister team, Hadjar joked that the response to his crash – at a similarly high-speed corner to when Pierre Gasly crashed as a Red Bull rookie in 2019 testing – helped him move past any negative feelings.
When asked how he was able to move on from that collision in Barcelona, Hadjar quipped to PlanetF1.com and other outlets in Bahrain: “When I crashed, I thought about – directly, I thought about Pierre [Gasly].
“So I went on Twitter [X] and I read everything, and I was like, ‘ah, I’m screwed for the whole season.’ And that’s how I moved on, honestly.”
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Hadjar has already been open in looking to accept he will be slower than teammate, Max Verstappen, in the early stages of his time at Red Bull, given his four-time World Champion status and long-held integration at the team.
Where driving style has proven to be an issue for Verstappen’s teammates in years gone by, PlanetF1.com asked him directly if the car suits how he drives, and he remains unfazed about the prospect.
“So far, it’s definitely not,” he replied. “It was day one for me, first afternoon, so if it was hooked up for me already, then I’m done for the season.
“But it’s not, so that’s why we’re working. From now to Abu Dhabi, the car is going to gain so much lap time anyway.”
With that said, Hadjar is aiming high with his targets for the season.
Having earned a first Formula 1 podium at Zandvoort last year, he is looking to go further what what he hopes will be a front-running car in 2026.
“I think obviously, like that first race win is in the radar. That would be great,” he stated.
“I’d like to see our car progressing faster than the other teams. I think that would be also very enjoyable.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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