Isack Hadjar has shared his insights into how his race unfolded and his dynamic with Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson following his point-scoring finish at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
After missing out on the final segment of qualifying on Saturday, the French-Algerian rookie bolted on the hard tyres at the start and climbed to P6 halfway through the race. Although he dropped back once he pitted on lap 34, the fresh mediums allowed him to charge back to P10.
Unfortunately, with Carlos Sainz assisting his teammate Alex Albon with DRS to stay ahead, Hadjar was unable to overtake the Thai-British driver in the closing stages of the race and departed Jeddah with a single point under his belt.
Williams’ DRS strategy made a better finish than P10 impossible
Speaking in the print media zone afterwards, Isack Hadjar reflected on the bold strategy of starting on the hard compound tyres at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP and extending the first stint as long as possible. He remarked that the outcome of the race was rather harsh given the efforts they had put in.
Moreover, referring to the DRS tactic the Williams drivers had utilised, the 20-year-old admitted that he was well aware of the possibility of not gaining any more positions after his only pit stop.
“Yeah, it was a perfect race and to get only one point is a bit harsh.
“But yeah, when I knew the two Williams were ahead of me after the pit stop, I knew I was cooked.
“It [the DRS-tow strategy] was so obvious. I knew it, but still I did my best to put him under pressure, but it didn’t work.”
Hadjar rates Jeddah performance highly, apart from qualifying
In reference to his noticeable improvement since Australia, Isack Hadjar rated his performance during Sunday’s race in Jeddah higher than the one at Suzuka.
The Racing Bulls driver also added that he was satisfied with the overall outcome of the race weekend, except for his performance in qualifying, where he failed to make it out of Q2.
“Yeah, it was again a really strong drive, maybe a bit better than Japan, because there were more challenges.
“Lap 1 was really tough, and we made the most of it this time. It was interesting as well on the strategy, we played a different game. It was definitely an interesting one. But yeah, I’m really happy except for qualifying.”
Albon struggling in his final stint made Hadjar confident that scoring points was possible
With regard to how tough the first couple of laps were at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP, Hadjar confessed that he had an average launch off the line. Nonetheless, noting that his car didn’t lack any grip in comparison to that of his immediate rivals, he remarked that he put up a good fight on the opening lap and stayed out of trouble.
“I knew lap 1 was going to be tough. Actually my launch was not great.
“But my lap 1 fight was definitely good, and I didn’t feel like we were lacking a lot of grip compared to the cars around.”
Asked when he realised that a point-scoring finish was on the cards, Isack Hadjar identified Albon struggling on his relatively older hard tyres as the key moment that transformed the latter half of his race.
Revealing that his car came alive on the fresh mediums, the 20-year-old stated that he was able to push hard and finish comfortably in P10 ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
“It’s really at the end of Albon’s stint that I felt like we have a lot of pace, because he was struggling a lot.
“I was starting to feel good with the tyres. So I knew it was time to go for a push.”
Lawson pushing Hadjar on track like Tsunoda before
In terms of how much he and Lawson are already pushing each other, Hadjar noted the step forward the New Zealander had taken in qualifying for the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
Furthermore, the 2024 F2 runner-up added that his new Racing Bulls teammate is motivating him to further improve his performance on track just like Yuki Tsunoda had done before.
“Honestly, this weekend he was really, really fast. In qualifying, he made the most of the car.
“He’s definitely getting stronger now, and definitely pushing me just like Yuki [Tsunoda] was pushing me as well.”
