Time off gives Hadjar clarity over Red Bull's development progress

Isack Hadjar says Red Bull’s progress with its car development was more clear to him after having had a number of races off due to injury, following his podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Frenchman injured his wrist in the summer break, missing the three rounds in Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid. Returning in Baku was the first time he had been behind the wheel since Budapest in late July, and Hadjar says that gave him the perspective to understand just how much the car has improved due to Red Bull’s latest upgrades.

“I must say I came back at the right time in terms of an injury point of view and, at the same time, in terms of what the car is capable of,” Hadjar said. “The way I left the car in Budapest, I was not really satisfied, and coming back after a couple of races, definitely made a step. So, definitely happy about that.

“And in terms of the approach, I took it really slowly, the whole weekend, because it’s a demanding track to come back to. I don’t want to be in the wall. The approach was great. It brought me to that P3. So, I can’t really do much better than that.

“To be honest, Baku is a very specific track, specific tarmac. But to me, the way the car was behaving in terms of through-corner balance this weekend, from lap one in FP1, I was like, ‘Okay, this is looking pretty good.’ [In some areas] we’re lacking compared to Mercedes, definitely, but in terms of handling on the brakes, the car was, to me, compared to Budapest, it definitely did a step. So I’m really pleased with that.”

Azerbaijan marked the second podium of Hadjar’s debut season with Red Bull, adding to the podium he scored for Racing Bulls in 2025. Despite his Monaco result earlier this year, Hadjar views Baku as a more deserving performance that will give him a lot of confidence.

“In the end, the Monaco podium, of course it was a podium, but it was not on pure pace, not because I qualified in the top three or whatever,” said Hadjar. “I felt like this is my first time with the team that I actually get to do a very clean weekend and actually fight my way into that podium. So actually, for me, it feels like a real first and it gives me good confidence heading into the next races.”