After struggling with a seatbelt issue through Q1 and Q2, Isack Hadjar stunned with a seventh-place in F1 Japanese GP Qualifying. His Q1 lap to be P12 was particularly heroic.
Hadjar has been having a stellar start to the season with the raw pace in the VCARB02 that often finds him ahead of one of the Red Bulls. Japan was yet another weekend with strong performances for the Frenchman.
However, coming into qualifying for the F1 Japanese GP, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Isack Hadjar. In FP3, he suffered issues with his seatbelt, causing the mechanics to take Hadjar’s seat out of the car and fix the issue.
Unfortunately, the issue reappeared in Q1. With Hadjar trying to put in a competitive lap time, he fought his way through the first session.
He said in the print media zone: “Yeah, I was just in pain with the belt. In Q1, of course, you don’t have time to jump back out. So I had to deal with it and pull through Q2”
When he was asked what the specific issue was regarding the belts, he said, “It’s just pain, yeah.”
Rookie showing lots of speed and potential
As one of the less well-known rookies coming into Formula 1 in 2025, Isack Hadjar has been impressing the paddock and fans around the world.
He admitted that the VCARB02 had been ‘predictable’, which helped him extract the necessary performance from the machinery. Hadjar was agonisingly close to P6, ending up 0.014s behind Kimi Antonelli.
“Yeah. The car is quite predictable. It’s fast as well. It’s efficient. I just need to do a good lap, and it puts me quite high in the rankings.”
So far, in the early rounds of this season, Isack Hadjar has shown unbelievable speed.
He was asked about the new dynamic with Lawson after his swap with Tsunoda, revealing he does not feel like a team leader as the Kiwi has driven for the team over two periods in the past.
“I didn’t feel a change, especially since Liam knows the team really well. Within the team, he’s more experienced than me, so I don’t feel like I have a leader role.
“We’re both young, quite new to it, so we’re just pushing each other at the moment.”
While Hadjar’s teammate will be focused on making his way through the grid, he will be looking to make the most of the impressive seventh place he attained.
A wet Japanese GP race ahead for Isack Hadjar and the rest of the field?
The threat of rain looms over Sunday, and while it means that the grid could find itself thrown into chaos, the rookies may find themselves at a disadvantage.
Racing Bulls are best of the rest on the grid thanks to Isack Hadjar. A nice, boring race would suit them.
“It’s fast in dry conditions, but in the wet, for sure, it’s going to be slippery. Still, in the wet, I feel like I don’t have much experience. Let’s see how it goes.”
No doubt Hadjar will be hoping to take another points finish on Sunday, come rain or shine.
