Second in the Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, Max Verstappen believes he owes much of his performance to Isack Hadjar. The Red Bull driver did not hesitate to pay tribute to the Frenchman, who did valuable work despite his heavy grid penalty.
Read more Lando Norris frustrated after his strong qualifying at Spa: «It’s a shame to drop ten places»
Max Verstappen does not hide it: without Isack Hadjar’s help, his qualifying result would probably have been very different. The four-time world champion will start from the front row at Spa-Francorchamps, but he believes this performance is largely the result of the collective work done by Red Bull.
Sentenced to a 30-place grid drop after several engine component changes, Hadjar had nothing left to play for individually. The Austrian team therefore decided to put their driver at Verstappen’s service during Q3.
A perfectly executed slipstream
Twice, Isack Hadjar gave a slipstream to his teammate in the last sector of the Belgian circuit. On a track as fast as Spa-Francorchamps, this aerodynamic gain can represent several precious tenths.
During the second attempt, Verstappen seemed particularly close to the Franco-Algerian’s car, suggesting that the gap might have been too small to fully exploit the slipstream. An analysis that the Dutchman quickly dismissed.
“It clearly helped me. Without that, I probably wouldn’t be here. I might be sixth or something like that.”
The Red Bull driver also wanted to highlight the work done by his teammate.
“Isack knew he would start from the back of the grid and he did an excellent job giving me the slipstream in the last sector. It’s also thanks to him that we are on the front row today.”
Antonelli remains the benchmark
Despite this nice second place, Verstappen acknowledges that Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli had a slight advantage this Saturday. The Italian took pole position with more than three tenths of a second advantage, a significant gap on such a demanding circuit.
Read more Lewis Hamilton reveals an unexpected consequence after his crash in FP3 at Spa
The Red Bull driver prefers, however, to focus on the quality of his team’s execution, which was able to optimize every detail to get the best possible position on the grid.
“The car was competitive throughout the weekend. We were probably not at Kimi’s level, but we are happy to be on the front row thanks to the work done by the whole team.”
A race that promises to be tricky
Although qualifying went well, Verstappen remains cautious about the race. Behind him, George Russell will inherit third place after the penalty given to Lando Norris, while the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will also be lurking.
The Dutchman expects to have to defend his position from the first laps against particularly fast competitors.
“Tomorrow, I will certainly be looking in my mirrors often. Today, we got a very good result, but the race will be another story.”
Another concern: tire management. Spa is known for putting tires under severe strain, especially during long stints, an area in which Verstappen prefers to remain measured.
“Long stints are always tricky here with the tires. I will do my best and we will see if we can stay in touch with the best.”
Second on the grid, Verstappen will therefore approach the Grand Prix with a real chance of victory. But before challenging Kimi Antonelli at the first corner, the world champion did not forget to thank the one who allowed him to occupy this privileged position: Isack Hadjar.
Read more Max Verstappen compares the 2026 F1 cars to Formula 3 and promises to silence his critics