Speaking ahead of this weekend’s F1 Azerbaijan GP, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar reflects on the learning curve of Formula 1. The young Frenchman also reflected on his F2 experience in Baku as he prepares for this weekend’s Grand Prix
Having lost out in qualifying at last year’s F2 event in Azerbaijan due to a bizarre moment for both Campos drivers in qualifying at turn 1, Hadjar doesn’t have the best track record.
Despite his previous woes, the Racing Bulls driver remained positive. He notes that while previous events haven’t gone his way, he felt he had the pace on track. The young rookie puts his previous struggles on the track down to driving errors and bad luck.
“Yeah, sometimes it’s me crashing, sometimes it’s the brakes not working and going straight in the wall,” Hadjar recalled when quizzed in his print media session about his previous outings in Baku. “I think I’ve always had pace here, I’ve either been stupid or had just bad luck.
“Let’s see what this year brings, but it’s definitely a track I enjoy.”
Hadjar was then asked about his expectations for this weekend. Looking ahead to the coming Grand Prix, he expects a challenging weekend. He likened the track surface to that of the Canadian Grand Prix in which he finished a lowly P16. Racing Bulls had very poor race pace that day.
Despite his reservations heading into the weekend, Hadjar claims he expects solid pace from his VCARB 02.
“I think the tarmac looks similar to what we had in Canada, it was our worst race of the season.” Hadjar replied when asked his expectations for this weekend. “We had graining straight away and we’re on the softest compound this year.
“So there’s going to be some challenges I think, but the raw pace on one lap should be strong.”
Having made headlines throughout his rookie season thus far, Isack Hadjar discussed the 2025 season so far. The Red Bull junior talked about the steep learning curve of Formula 1 ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP.
Hadjar was asked on Thursday what his targets to improve are for the rest of the season. Reflecting on his growth as a driver, Hadjar identified the technical side of the sport as an area of improvement heading into the latter half of the year.
“I think from an engineering point of view, maybe.” Hadjar said. “It’s such a technical world, I would say. As a rookie, it’s where I’m learning the most. I’m not really driving the car, I know how to do it.”
