Isack Hadjar’s Hungarian GP qualifying session secured him a solid P10 for Sunday’s race. Yet, the Frenchman will remember his session for a costly error on his fastest Q3 lap, preventing him from achieving a potential top-seven grid slot.
A weekend of mixed fortunes
The French driver entered qualifying with confidence after a solid start to the Hungarian GP weekend. Starting with P4 in FP1 and maintaining competitive form with P8 in FP2, Hadjar appeared well positioned to challenge for a strong grid position.
However, Friday’s momentum suffered a setback in FP3, where he dropped to P20 after spinning before doing a lap on his softs, hinting at the challenges that would ultimately define his qualifying experience.
Progressive qualifying performance derailed
Hadjar’s Hungarian GP qualifying began on a positive note, with the driver showing consistent improvement throughout the first two segments. In Q1 he put up a competitive 1:15.516, before improving to 1:15.469 in Q2. However, Q3 proved challenging as his 1:15.915 reflected the costly mistake that prevented him from maximizing his potential.
The progression through Q1 and Q2 demonstrated Hadjar’s growing confidence with the car set-up, making his Q3 setback all the more frustrating during what was otherwise a strong qualifying performance.
Q3 error proves costly
When it mattered most in the final qualifying segment, Hadjar’s pursuit of a higher starting position ended in frustration. A momentary lapse in concentration sent him off the racing line at a critical juncture.
“Yeah, I literally went in the grass on my best lap, so there’s not much to say,” Hadjar explained with evident disappointment. “I lost a lot of time there, and that was it.“
The changing wind conditions in Q3 created additional challenges for all drivers, but Hadjar refused to use them as an excuse for his error, instead taking full accountability for the outcome.
“The car felt nice the whole session, and then the wind picked up massively in Q3, and it was not fun to drive, but it’s the same for everyone, so I just made a mistake,” Hadjar admitted.
Solid foundation despite missed opportunity
While P10 represents a respectable starting position that puts Hadjar in prime position to score points on Sunday, the result carries a tinge of disappointment given his strong pace throughout the session.
Despite the frustration of not maximizing his potential, the underlying pace shown throughout the weekend provides a solid foundation for Sunday’s race, where points remain well within reach through strong racecraft and strategic execution. The challenge now for Hadjar will be to convert his evident speed into a strong race result, using his disappointment from qualifying as motivation to fight through the field at the Hungaroring.
