Isack Hadjar scored his first points of the season by finishing eighth in the Chinese Grand Prix, a result that will remain mixed for the Red Bull driver in a difficult weekend for the Austrian team.
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Despite this mixed ranking, Hadjar is showing encouraging signs, particularly in terms of consistency and race management, after an early retirement at the previous event in Melbourne.
The Frenchman could have aimed higher, however, but he was caught off guard from the first lap.
A big scare
Engaged in a great battle with Oliver Bearman, he lost control of his car in a high-speed spin, compromising his chances of securing higher points.
“Honestly, it was very surprising, the way the car went,” Isack explained. “It was a good battle with Ollie, I had managed to take back the position and suddenly, the car slipped. I had no chance of catching it, and it’s a shame, because we could have fought for more important points.”
Despite this difficult moment, the weekend presents positive aspects for the French driver. The race allowed him to run on track for a long time and accumulate a large amount of data, a rare opportunity that could prove valuable for the development of the car in future races.
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Good learning
Hadjar was one of the few drivers to test the three available tire compounds, varying strategies and settings to best understand the behavior of his car.
“It’s the first time I’ve done so many laps in a row,” he continued. “There are plenty of things to analyze. I drove on all the tires this weekend, I tried many things on the car and even if it didn’t help us on pure performance, it will allow us to better understand many aspects and progress for the rest of the season.”
With these first points in the bag and an enriching race experience, Hadjar can now focus on optimizing his performance and consolidating his consistency.
If Red Bull’s technical situation improves, the Frenchman could be more ambitious in the next Grands Prix, turning his learnings into more significant results on the track.
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