Dutch GP qualifying star Hadjar hails “best lap” of his F1 career

Racing Bulls F1 rookie Isack Hadjar says his fourth-fastest time in Dutch Grand Prix qualifying was the best lap of his F1 career, although he also hinted at some luck.

Both Hadjar and team-mate Liam Lawson looked competitive as they advanced into the final Q3 shoot-out, but while Lawson’s bid to qualify high up stalled with a slower final attempt, Hadjar found a perfect lap around Zandvoort to claim his best ever result in fourth, qualifying 0.546s off McLaren’s polesitter Oscar Piastri.

In doing so Hadjar leapfrogged the likes of Mercedes’ George Russell as well as both Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Lawson lining up in eighth to complete an outstanding Saturday for the Anglo-Italian outfit.

“I’m very happy, finally I’m quite satisfied with what I did, so it was a good job from me,” Hadjar responded, referring to his earlier admission that he is sometimes too self-critical and downbeat over his own performances. At Zandvoort, there was certainly no reason to be glum, although the Frenchman surmised he may have been fortunate with how the gusty conditions struck drivers on their final qualifying attempts.
 
“To be honest, it was the car being exactly like I wanted. It was responding really well, especially on that final lap,” he said, explaining his qualifying result. “Probably we got a bit lucky with the wind gusts. I don’t know, we need to look at the data. It’s a horrible feeling when you’re being hit by one. You can lose up to two tenths in a single corner. It’s very annoying, so you need to be a bit lucky.

“But I pulled an amazing lap and it stuck because the car was great. Surely, it’s the best lap I’ve had this year because it’s a very hard track, really demanding. And I put it all on the line, especially that final corner. I thought I did pretty well there to actually gain one more tenth. That was special.”

In its recent history the Dutch Grand Prix has always been won from pole and, combined with a technical 4.226km layout, a nailed-on one-stop strategy isn’t suggesting a race which will see unfettered jousting for position. But still, Hadjar isn’t too convinced he can keep Russell and the Ferraris behind if they do prove to be faster over a race stint.

“To be fair, I don’t think it’s really difficult to overtake here, looking at how long the straight is,” Hadjar weighed in. “The DRS zone starts very early, so if they have more pace, they will overtake. We need to accept it and be smart.”
 
Hadjar does get to line up alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen, the man tipped to be his team-mate at Red Bull next year as the 20-year-old keeps impressing Red Bull’s chiefs.
 
“Usually, he takes really good starts. He’s also on the clean side of the track, so probably he’s going to fight one of the guys ahead,” Hadjar added, this time speaking to Sky, as he figured his best chance was to follow Verstappen rather than make an audacious lunge at the Dutchman. “That’s the plan because overtaking him would be very bold and very difficult.”