The detail that impressed Red Bull the most about Hadjar’s F1 return

After his wrist injury, Isack Hadjar certainly did not return behind the wheel of the Red Bull Racing RB22 at the easiest track on the Formula 1 calendar. The Baku City Circuit not only carries a considerable risk of crashes, but also features several very technical sections around the city’s old town.

It requires confidence, but Hadjar had plenty of it despite missing three race weekends – having already made clear after practice that his wrist would not be a limiting factor.

Hadjar qualified fourth on the shores of the Caspian Sea and then produced a faultless race to claim his second podium of the season and his third F1 podium overall. His race weekend in Baku impressed Red Bull, Mekies acknowledged when addressing the written media post-race.

“I think it was outstanding what Isack has produced this weekend, really outstanding,” Red Bull’s team principal said. “At first, the most important thing is that straight away he felt good in the car, no pain. It means that every time we met together in the last few weeks and we said we will wait for Isack to come back at 100% because that’s the priority, well, that’s what happened.

“He was in the car, he didn’t have any pain. Nonetheless, even without pain, this is not an easy track to come back to because there is no margin for error.”

Hadjar himself was well aware of the latter and therefore built up his weekend steadily at one of the most treacherous street circuits.

“He has been building up his rhythm, session after session, very calmly, and with a lot of positive energy,” Mekies added. “Already yesterday, to stick the car in P4 was a very, very strong result. I think today, the sort of race pace that he has shown on the medium and on the soft, is something we had not seen before.

“So on the weekend of his return, he has raised the bar again. We say to each other very often that we have seen him adding something to the business every time he was going out on track in the first part of the season, and he is continuing to do that.”

Red Bull impressed by Hadjar’s mature radio communication

Aside from his outright pace, there is another aspect that impressed Mekies: the way Hadjar conducted himself during the first stint. Red Bull asked the young Frenchman to give up his position to Verstappen, but even when the four-time world champion struggled with Pirelli’s medium tyre, Hadjar remained calm.

“And on top of that, allow me to say that he also raced extremely cleverly with Max, very disciplined with his tyres,” Mekies said. “It allowed us to have very, very strong teamwork between the two of them and between the pitwall. That has ultimately produced the best result possible.”

It underlines that Hadjar is also making progress in that respect. In the junior categories and during the first year of his F1 career, Hadjar could often come across as hot-headed over the team radio, but Saturday in Baku was the exact opposite.

Of course, after several laps Hadjar asked whether he was free to attack – to which the team responded that he had to keep it clean – but the radio communication that preceded it was telling. When asked how much quicker Hadjar could go in clean air, the man behind the wheel replied: “Two or three tenths, but I’m honestly happy to be here.”

In other words, Hadjar did not need the position back, thereby maximising the race time of both drivers and, with it, Red Bull’s chances. When Autosport asked Mekies about this specific moment, it was clear that this is what impressed the team principal most of all.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

“I think you are pinpointing exactly on the right details that make you understand a lot more about the right pictures,” Mekies said. 

“It shows you how cleverly the kid is racing, and how much of brain capacity he is developing while in the car, and also how much emotional control he is managing to have.

“Those are as many indicators of the steps he has made in all these areas, on top of producing more speed. So it’s exactly that trajectory that has been impressing us every day since he has joined the team, and probably last year as well.

“And also for that, we want to give him the best possible environment to continue to develop because that step was truly impressive.”

Providing that best possible environment includes the contract extension for 2027 and the timing of it. Mekies acknowledges that Red Bull deliberately did so to take all the pressure off Hadjar’s shoulders, and as he walks away at the end of the media session, Mekies laughs: “I think Isack repaid our faith today!”

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– The Autosport.com Team