Isack Hadjar achieved his first-ever F1 podium at the Dutch GP in a monumental performance from the rookie driver. After a successful Saturday that saw him qualify P4, Hadjar was set up for a decent Sunday to begin with. Finishing third, this result marks the culmination of the momentum the French driver has been building throughout the season.
Hadjar on keeping his expectations low after a promising qualifying session
At a track like Zandvoort where overtaking is notoriously tricky, qualifying is imperative. When Hadjar pulled out a 1:09.208 lap time to take P4, the pressure was on to convert that result into a large haul of points on race day.
When asked if Hadjar had big plans to make it onto the podium on Sunday, he responded in earnest that he didn’t expect anything.
“I mean, outstanding day. I did not expect that waking up this morning. I was being very realistic.
“I was being realistic and was honestly aiming for big points. That was the target. I knew it would be very hard to fight Ferrari and Mercedes. But it was more like towards the last 20 laps I thought if anything happens at the front, then I’m on a podium position. And when Lando had the issue, I knew I was going to finish there.”
Hadjar’s performance this season has been a bit up and down. However, his good results have been very good. The Racing Bulls car seems as though it has had more consistency than it ever has before.
In his post-race press conference, Hadjar commented on how his confidence in the car was vital at the Dutch GP.
“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.
“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. So yeah, I’m so happy for my guys.”
While Hadjar didn’t want to get ahead of himself in terms of expectations, the Racing Bulls car performed well under pressure to secure him his podium.
Reflecting on his rocky debut, and a first major milestone of his F1 career
While a first podium finish is not as coveted as a first grand prix win, it is still a major accomplishment. This kind of achievement does not happen overnight, and Hadjar stated as much in his media session.
When asked if there was one person in particular who helped him get to this point, Hadjar pointed out several.
“There’s more than one person, obviously. First of all, my parents, my mum and my dad. And more sporting wise, Helmut [Marko] who gave me this shot.
“I remember four years ago he signed me back in FRECA it was and he gave me a path, a trajectory, and I’m actually following it pretty well right now.”
On paper, the Frenchman’s promotion to F1 for this season seemed nonsensical before the season started. Hadjar’s crash on the formation lap of his debut race in Australia added fuel to the skeptics’ fire. Since then, the rookie has consistently proven his mettle through his impressive race pace and composure at the highest level of motorsport.
Hadjar commented on this reversal of fortunes in his post-race press conference, stating that he thought his shot had passed him by.
“After what happened in Australia, in the car, obviously, I thought my life was over, but then you realise it can happen and you bounce back very quickly from that.
“Then to have a podium without too much miracles and not much going on ahead—no, I didn’t expect it, especially that fast in the season.
“Yeah, it feels a bit unreal. What was most surprising to me is keeping that fourth place for the whole race. […] But yeah, we did no mistake.”
The French rookie seems to be in a state of disbelief of how this season has panned out after his nightmare debut.
“Already finishing fourth on pure pace would have been a mighty result. But finishing third, I’m just over the moon.”
