The night brought counsel to Isack Hadjar. While the Parisian admitted not feeling confident on the ultra-fast Corniche circuit following his 14th place in qualifying – his worst result in Formula 1 –, he regained his composure for the race and managed to get into the points.
If the Racing Bulls driver's tenth place is satisfactory, eighth position was possible if he had not suffered from the team play of the two single-seaters Williams preceding him. In 2 against 1, it's not easy, confided Isack Hadjar, with a yellow smile. The end is frustrating. If they weren't teammates, P8 was possible for me, but that's part of racing and I would have done the same thing if I had been in their situation. The Williams were super fast on the straights and Alex Albon didn't make the slightest mistake. Two experienced pilots helping each other, I couldn't do anything »
The Francilien had a better pace than his direct opponents, but the Grove team intelligently asked Carlos Sainz to slow down to offer the DRS to his teammate Alex Albon, thus blocking the Racing Bulls driver.
An unexpected point for Hadjar
It was the first laps that made the difference on the Corniche circuit. Tenth after only five laps, Isack Hadjar took advantage of the retirement of Pierre Gasly et Yuki tsunoda to gain two places before rolling out without making any mistakes.
« I am very happy with my race, the rookie admitted. I think that, like in Japan, we couldn't have done better today. Starting 14th, with a shifted strategy (The Parisian started the race on hard tires), I still managed to have a good first lap and from there, I knew we had a good shot to play. The pace was good. To be honest, I didn't think points were possible, so it's a great effort. »
Having made a solid start to the season, Hadjar has impressed with his consistency. Unlike his teammate Liam Lawson, who often struggles, the Parisian has produced a string of accurate and flawless performances.
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vincent moyet
21/04/2025 at 10:44 a.m.
In five races, he has established himself as the clear leader of his team. Moving forward, he'll need to find a more interesting future than second-place driver at RBR... at the rate things are going, Hamilton's place could be up for grabs sooner than expected.
Alain Féguenne (Luxembourg)
21/04/2025 at 07:37 a.m.
Isack did a good job, but Team Williams and the two drivers worked intelligently!!!! Hats off!!! 👍