The start of the 2026 F1 season has been one of ups and downs for Isack Hadjar. He outqualified team mate Max Verstappen in both Melbourne and Suzuka, but failed to capitalise on both occasions. He suffered a DNF in the opening race in Australia, before a poor race in Japan saw him drop four places and out of the points. In between, he scored good points in Shanghai.
Spring break coming at a good time
The Red Bull Racing RB22 is a difficult car to drive. Verstappen crashed out in Australia and Hadjar himself spun in China, underlining the team’s poor start to the 2026 F1 season. So, the impromptu spring break comes at the right time for Red Bull Racing.
Talking in a print media session ahead of the race in Japan, Hadjar highlighted that he feels the team has the right personnel to get back to the top.
“Joining the team […], for pure performance, I didn’t have any expectations, because we start from scratch. But now what’s interesting is just how we’re going to get back up and see how fast we progress. That’s the only thing I have in mind, really.
“So yeah, I trust my guys. We have the right people to win races, so it’s just a matter of time.”
When pressed, he confirmed the absence of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia would help the team.
“Yeah, for sure,” Hadjar said. “It’s two less races with the current car we have, so definitely it’s going to help.”
Gap to Verstappen better than expected
One of the more noteworthy situations in F1 at the start of 2026 is Hadjar’s gap to team mate Verstappen. The Frenchman is closer to the four-time world champion than any of his recent team mates. A pleasant surprise according to the driver of car #6.
“I’m definitely closer than what I expected.” he said.
The sophomore driver admitted he wanted this to be the case, despite him not expecting to achieve this small gap so early on.
“I think it makes sense, the gap I have to Max. The last couple of weekends, it’s pretty much what I wanted. Not what I expected, it’s what I wanted.
“But then, let’s see how the season goes, when the car gets the upgrades, gets better, gets easier to drive, and let’s see how it goes.
“But I don’t see any reason why it would change, because it’s a car, I drive it, he drives it, and that’s how it is.”
