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While Max Verstappen’s difficult Silverstone weekend attracted most of the attention at Red Bull, Isack Hadjar quietly delivered one of his strongest performances of the 2026 season. The Frenchman qualified fifth after a strong result in Austria, placing two positions ahead of his team-mate, who was dealing with balance and power unit issues.
Hadjar initially held fifth at the start of the race, before Verstappen passed him on lap four. His first stint then began to unravel. He suspected tyre performance was responsible for a sharp drop-off, but switching to a new set of hard tyres failed to restore his pace.
The team eventually identified a front-wing problem. Hadjar made a second pit stop to have it replaced, losing approximately eight seconds in the process. The effect was immediate: his lap times improved from the 1m 34s range to the 1m 32s bracket. By then, however, the lost time had already shaped the outcome.
“So a waste of a race, really,” Hadjar said afterwards, as reported in his reaction to the British Grand Prix.
Hadjar still finished fifth, but the result did not reflect the pace he might have shown without the damaged wing. He believed he could have challenged Lando Norris for fourth and felt a late restart could even have created a chance to fight for the podium. The race was not resumed after the Safety Car was deployed following Verstappen’s incident.
The early battle with Verstappen was nevertheless a positive moment. Hadjar said he was able to follow his team-mate effectively for several laps, describing the fight as enjoyable and valuable despite the eventual loss of performance.
Team Principal Laurent Mekies praised the weekend as another step forward. He said Hadjar had been strong since the start of the season, whether the car was competitive or not, and highlighted his progress in experience and skill from race to race.
Mekies also explained why Hadjar appeared less outspoken about the RB22’s balance limitations than Verstappen. According to the Red Bull boss, both drivers were identifying a similar weakness, but interpreting it differently. Verstappen was projecting the car’s potential if the balance issue could be solved, while Hadjar, as a newer driver, was not yet taking that analysis as far.
For Red Bull, the key message was clear: even after a frustrating result, Hadjar continues to improve every time he drives the car.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.