Isack Hadjar doesn’t expect to finish on the podium despite qualifying in third place Saturday morning. The French driver believes the competition is stronger.
Hadjar was tasked with leading the charge for Red Bull Racing on Saturday after Max Verstappen crashed in Q1 due to a software issue that unexpectedly locked his rear tires. The young Frenchman, who has already outperformed Yuki Tsunoda’s entire 2025 season, doesn’t anticipate a strong podium challenge on Sunday, and was surprised by his own qualifying lap.
“Yes, it was a very smooth qualifying,” Hadjar said. “The build-up to qualifying, the whole weekend, was a bit difficult.”
“We’re not really in a position to fight for the top three. I felt the Ferrari and the McLaren were a bit ahead of me, but we worked our way up throughout the qualifying session and that was a very good final lap.”
Hadjar acknowledges the gap to Mercedes is already too significant to close. The team led by Toto Wolff clearly has the fastest car, a fact underscored during Q3. The Formula 1 driver is advising fans to temper their expectations.
“The only thing I can do is make a better start. They are just too fast at the moment, so I want to hold my position. A second podium finish would be nice.”
Despite not anticipating a podium finish for himself, Hadjar believes Max Verstappen has a good chance to score points. Red Bull’s strong long-run pace offers hope for the Dutchman, who will start from 20th position after being unable to set a time Saturday morning.
“We know the car performs well over the long run,” Hadjar stated. “We actually have a lot of confidence in our race car. Not enough to beat a Mercedes, that’s for sure, but it would be good if we can at least hold our position.”
