Hadjar enjoyed racing on a knife-edge: I was on the verge of crashing the whole time

Red Bull’s double podium allowed the team to match McLaren’s points haul in Sao Paulo and retain the advantage in the battle for third in the constructors’ championship. That was thanks in part to a battling performance from Isack Hadjar, who was not afraid to push to the limit and let Max Verstappen through when asked to do so by the pit wall.

Isack Hadjar’s route to the podium appeared far more straightforward than Verstappen’s charge from the back row. The Frenchman moved into the podium positions shortly after Liam Lawson began struggling with his tyres. He spent almost all the remainder of the race in the top three.

“It was a lot of fun. It was extremely difficult, but it was a lot of fun,” said Isack Hadjar. “I enjoyed the mixed conditions. I enjoyed nearly crashing all the time. Yeah, it was very draining. It felt very long, 71 laps in these conditions.”

The Red Bull driver may rue not getting back the second place he had handed to Max Verstappen at the start of lap 38. They were separated by around ten seconds at the finish. Verstappen built that gap by switching to soft tyres earlier. At that point, Hadjar was still considering a one-stop strategy.

The team ultimately decided it was not worth the risk. “I’m happy to come out with a podium, especially that, you know, I’m not a guy that takes crazy amount of risks, and today paid off. And yeah, it’s my… I don’t remember a race that demanding, honestly,” he admitted.

Hadjar had more than a few heart-in-mouth moments, most notably in the pits when he switched to intermediates. After the race, he admitted he had almost hit his mechanics while trying to hold on to a podium place in a head-to-head battle with Kimi Antonelli. “They kept their calm and the pit-stop was fast, so a big thanks to the boys,”

“Felt good, you know. We didn’t steal that one, and nothing was clicking the last couple of weeks. I wouldn’t say we started the best way this weekend, and still we finished third,” he reflected with satisfaction. “It’s really promising for the last triple header.”