Isack Hadjar is facing his sixth Grand Prix in the service of Red Bull; for five race weekends, he has shared the garage with Max Verstappen. The young Parisian looks back on his first appearances for the Austrian racing stable with mixed feelings. Hadjar is aware that he has made unnecessary mistakes at times, although he is simultaneously proud that he can keep up with Max Verstappen.
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During the recent Canadian GP, Isack Hadjar finished in a strong fifth place and scored good points for Red Bull. In qualifying, he was also only three hundredths slower than teammate Max Verstappen. An encouraging result, especially given the large differences between Verstappen and his previous teammates at Red Bull. In the run-up to the Monaco GP, where he already qualified very strongly last year and scored good points for Racing Bulls, he looked back on his season so far.
“I did the difficult things well, like being close to Max (Verstappen, ed.),” Hadjar told the media in the paddock. “The easy things, I made unnecessary mistakes in those.” Nevertheless, the 21-year-old Frenchman is in good spirits. He sees the beginning of his Red Bull career primarily as a learning process, with Verstappen’s advice helping him along the way. “In an ideal world, you wouldn’t make those mistakes anymore,” he laughed. “But I’m not bothered by it; I’m young, this is only my second year in Formula 1. Now I can make those mistakes, but when I can fight for the title, that won’t happen anymore.”
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Help from Verstappen
“I now have the advantage that I can compare myself to the best driver on the grid,” he referred to Verstappen. “That’s what I’m focusing on right now. Conversely, he certainly doesn’t need to ask me for advice,” Hadjar joked. “But when I ask him for advice, he is very open and helpful. He doesn’t have to hold anything back, because he knows how strong he is.” About the upcoming challenge in Monaco: “Mentally, it’s absolutely an endurance race. You need all your concentration and mental capacity. You can’t afford to put your energy into anything else.”
Red Bull made significant progress during the last Canadian GP compared to the other top teams. Slowly but surely, the team is catching up with Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari. Does that put extra pressure on Hadjar? “With a good car, you’ll probably reach Q3 without driving a divine lap, but even then you still have to perform – in the top 10, you’re still fighting for the best result. Regardless of whether you have a good car or not, you always have to deliver.” With twenty-two cars on the narrow streets of Monaco, that’s easier said than done. “Q1 is more of a survival game,” Hadjar admitted. “Everyone knows how challenging the conditions are here. Last year everything went very smoothly – we are all extra careful.”
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