After a spectacular comeback to sixth place at Spa, Isack Hadjar believes Red Bull had the pace to fight for the podium without his heavy grid penalty.
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Isack Hadjar achieved one of the finest comebacks at the Belgian Grand Prix. Starting from the penultimate position after a 30-place grid penalty due to exceeding the power unit quota, the Red Bull driver finished in a strong sixth place.
A result that, according to him, confirms the potential shown by the RB22 throughout the weekend.
A rewarding strategy despite some regrets
From the start, Hadjar gained many positions before taking advantage of the safety car caused by George Russell’s retirement to make two stops and quickly switch to hard tires.
At the time, the Frenchman wondered if he hadn’t taken unnecessary risks.
“I thought to myself: ‘Why did I take so many risks? You should have told me to stay last!'”
He acknowledges, however, that no one could have anticipated the arrival of the safety car.
“Obviously, we didn’t know there would be a safety car. It was a bit frustrating at the time, but in the end, it paid off.”
“Without penalty, we were fighting for the podium”
Hadjar’s biggest regret remains his engine penalty, which deprived him of a much more favorable starting position.
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Given Red Bull’s pace at Spa, he is convinced that a podium was within his reach.
“That’s precisely the problem. It’s frustrating, because I think without the penalty, we would have been fighting for the podium given the pace we had.”
His teammate Max Verstappen also confirmed the competitiveness of the RB22 by finishing third.
A performance that doesn’t surprise him
While Hadjar admits to being pleasantly surprised by Red Bull’s performance level on a circuit where he didn’t expect it, he states that he is not surprised by his own performance.
“I didn’t think a circuit like Spa would suit us so well. However, I’m not really surprised by my performance or by finally being able to show good race pace while running in clean air.”
The Frenchman believes that Spa marks an important step after the frustration experienced at Silverstone.
“Silverstone had been very frustrating because I hadn’t been able to show my pace and I found myself isolated in the race. This time, I think it was my most complete weekend of the season. We need to continue this momentum.”
This comeback to sixth place certainly strengthens Hadjar’s confidence, as he believes he has finally been able to demonstrate the true potential of his RB22 and his own driving in favorable race conditions.
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