Sixth in Hungary, Isack Hadjar regrets a very difficult first stint which, according to him, deprived him of an even more ambitious result.
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Isack Hadjar continued his excellent run by securing a seventh consecutive top 6 finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, the Red Bull driver leaves Budapest with mixed feelings. While he praises the pace shown by his RB22 for most of the race, he believes that a complicated first stint prevented him from fighting with the Ferraris for fourth and fifth places.
The Frenchman is struggling to explain this sudden drop in performance.
“It’s strange because the first stint goes well for the first few laps, then all of a sudden I drop off completely. After that, I’m totally off the pace and, by the time I pit, I’m easily eleven seconds behind the car in front of me.”
Pace regained after the first stop
Once fitted with hard tires, Hadjar found a much more convincing level of performance.
The Red Bull driver emphasizes that his pace became very competitive again until the checkered flag, further reinforcing his incomprehension regarding his first stint.
“The pace on hard tires was very good, including after the second stop for another set of hard tires. Everything was fine, except for that first stint on medium tires where I was completely off the pace.”
For Hadjar, this anomaly probably cost him the possibility of finishing at the foot of the podium.
“I want to understand what happened, because we had plenty of potential to have a very good race with the Ferraris.”
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An assumed teammate role
His second stint was also extended by Red Bull to influence the strategy of his competitors and offer an advantage to Max Verstappen.
Hadjar quickly understood his team’s intentions when they asked him to stay on track despite his desire to pit.
“I quickly understood what they were trying to do when they left me out even though I was asking to pit.”
The Frenchman assures that he played along without compromising the race of other drivers.
“I didn’t want to cause chaos, so I stayed clean on track. I think it still helped a bit.”
Still impressive momentum
Despite this frustration, Hadjar once again confirms his excellent form with a seventh consecutive top 6 finish.
Just a few months after joining Red Bull, the Frenchman is establishing himself as one of the most consistent drivers on the grid and continues to accumulate big points for his team.
If he manages to understand the difficulties encountered during this first stint in Hungary, Hadjar believes that his level of performance will quickly allow him to aim for even more ambitious results.
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