Hadjar the hero

Isack Hadjar thought his “life was over” after his horror debut in Australia, but now he’s soaring higher than ever following a dream maiden F1 podium at Zandvoort. 

In just his 15^th race, Hadjar put in one of the drives of the season, putting a Racing Bulls on the podium on merit following a dramatic Dutch Grand Prix.

After an impressive qualifying effort that saw the 20-year-old Frenchman start a strong fourth, he held his own in the early stages, keeping the likes of George Russell and Charles Leclerc behind.

Hadjar was soon rewarded for his gritty drive when Lando Norris’ engine expired and dropped out of second position.

Suddenly, Hadjar found himself with the chance to take a maiden trophy, but he still had to survive a three-lap sprint to the finish with Russell on his tail.

But the rookie held his nerve to hold on to a universally celebrated podium.

The ecstasy of standing on the podium alongside Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen is a far cry from his infamous and heartbreaking debut in Australia, where he slid into the barriers during a wet formation lap.

But thanks to his Holland heroics, those scenes of Antony Hamilton consoling him are now far from the defining images of a growing career.

Hadjar was riding the high of the unexpected and well-deserved podium, joining Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat to give Red Bull’s junior team a trophy.

“It feels a bit unreal,” he said. 

“What was most surprising to me is keeping that fourth place for the whole race. 

“Unfortunately for Lando, we took advantage of his  DNF, but we made no mistake. 

“The car was on rails the whole weekend, and I’m really happy about myself because I really maximised what I had. 

“Made no mistakes and brought home the podium.

“That was always the target since I was a kid. 

“This is a first step, my first podium, and hopefully many more to come.”

Reflecting on his rise since Australia, Hadjar said he has been proud of how he has pressed on and displayed why he is called “Le Petit Prost.”

“After what happened in Australia, in the car, obviously, I thought my life was over,” he said.

“But then you realise it can happen and you bounce back very quickly from that. 

“Then to have a podium without too many miracles and not much going on ahead—no, I didn’t expect it, especially that fast in the season. 

“Already finishing fourth on pure pace would have been a mighty result. 

“But finishing third, I’m just over the moon.”

Hadjar admitted he was pleasantly surprised he could keep the Ferraris and Mercedes behind him.

“I was being realistic and was honestly aiming for big points. That was the target,” he said. 

“I knew it would be very hard to fight Ferrari and Mercedes.

“Thankfully I had an okay start to keep fourth and from there, on the opening laps, I knew Charles would be trying to go for the move, which he did. 

“I was really comfortable on the brakes, made sure I defended the right way and that’s what we did. 

“Once I was holding him for a while, I realised that we had the car pace to fight for big points. 

“Towards the end of the race I thought if anything happens at the front, actually I’m on a podium finish position, and that’s what happened.”

Image: Simon Galloway/Red Bull Content Pool

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