For Isack Hadjar, the final race of his 2025 Formula 1 season with Racing Bulls at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP delivered far less than he had hoped for.
Hadjar looked set for a strong race after making it into Q3 and securing P9 in qualifying, with the top 15 cars separated by just 0.367s. However, he was unable to turn that strong qualifying into points in his final race of the year. Speaking after the race in the print media pen, he admitted with clear sarcasm that “the event went really well, as you can see,” having finished the Grand Prix one lap down in P17.
Hadjar spent the opening stint inside the top ten, but once he pitted and rejoined in traffic, progress became impossible. The Racing Bulls package simply lacked the pace to fight forward, a struggle reflected across both cars. His teammate, Liam Lawson, endured a similar afternoon and crossed the line in P18.
No pace for the majority of the weekend
With the championship battle between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri capturing the spotlight, very little of the midfield fight made the broadcast.
“No, no pace like I expected,” Hadjar admitted even he was surprised by his result in Saturday’s qualifying session. “Yesterday, I don’t even know how I placed the car in ninth. So, yeah, no pace the whole weekend. It’s a shame.”
Reflecting again on his campaign, he pointed out that the difficult finale didn’t change his overall satisfaction with the seasons progress, and had just hoped that he could finish the year out with the team strong.
“Yeah, like I said, it’s obviously good enough. I can’t care less about this race. It’s just for the sake of the team, and I wanted to leave with a good note, and I didn’t. It’s a bit sad.”
Racing Bulls securing P6 in the Constructors’ Championship
With Williams’ securing P5 in the Constructors’ Championship back in Round 23 at Qatar for the 2025 F1 season, it left Racing Bulls fighting with the likes of Haas and Aston Martin for P6, which they ultimately secured. That result marked a solid achievement for the team, especially after their mid-season resurgence.
But for Isack Hadjar, the result in at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP brought a personal disappointment, with him finishing outside the Top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship. Fernando Alonso and Nico Hülkenberg jumped him in the final round.
“Yeah, for sure, but I lost my top nine in the championship.”
