Isack Hadjar cut an upbeat figure after completing his first proper day as a Red Bull Racing driver at the start of the Barcelona Shakedown, describing Monday\u2019s running as \u201cpretty productive\u201d.<\/p>\n
After a series of shorter runs early on, Hadjar<\/a> racked up a healthy number of laps as the day wore on, getting to grips with the RB22 chassis, Red Bull<\/a>\u2019s new power unit and a host of new driver modes.<\/p>\n Speaking after he hopped out of the car, Hadjar said: \u201cIt was pretty productive. Surprisingly, we managed to do a lot more laps than we expected. Everything went pretty smooth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had like only minor issues, so it\u2019s quite impressive considering it\u2019s our first day with our own engine. It was definitely smooth.\u201d<\/p>\n Pushed on the initial feel and driveability from Red Bull\u2019s power unit, the Frenchman added: \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s pretty decent for our first day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel too far off what I\u2019m used to, at least in my first season, on all of the upshifts, downshifts. There\u2019s still a few things to tweak around, of course, but it\u2019s solid.<\/p>\n Hadjar also took a moment to talk about just how different the 2026 cars are to drive, and the host of modes<\/a> that will be available to drivers from the coming season \u2013 including \u2018Active Aero\u2019, \u2018Overtake Mode\u2019, a new maximum power \u2018Boost\u2019 button, and a \u2018Recharge\u2019 setting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a lot less load in general,\u201d he commented. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation of cars \u2013 they are more simple, it\u2019s easier to play around with them.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, on the PU side, there\u2019s a lot more options for the driver to play with; I already started to work on it today, so that was very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n