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Isack Hadjar insists he is ready to rebuild his confidence ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, after a heavy crash during Free Practice 1 brought his session to an abrupt end on Friday afternoon.
The Racing Bulls driver had been making steady progress on the unforgiving streets of Monte Carlo, carefully probing the limits of the RB22 around the narrow circuit. But at the second chicane of the Swimming Pool section, the rear of his car snapped away without warning, sending him straight into the barrier and triggering a red flag that halted the session for the entire field.
The impact left his car with a severely damaged front wing and a missing wheel, handing Red Bull a substantial repair operation in the few hours between the two practice sessions.
"It was going pretty okay," Hadjar reflected. "Actually I think I was on good laps and gaining confidence, and it's when I gained that confidence I had that moment. It really caught me off guard — I didn't expect to lose it here. Also it's not a crash you often see here, losing the rear like that, so I was surprised. Definitely a tough one."
The incident was one of two red flags that disrupted a chaotic FP1 session at Monaco, in which Ferrari ultimately set the pace.
Despite the setback, Hadjar only missed a small portion of FP2 and ultimately ended the day in a promising sixth place, finishing just over a second behind Lewis Hamilton's benchmark time — a respectable return given the circumstances.
"I tried to build the confidence back again [in FP2]," he said. "I took no risks and lap by lap, just explored a bit more. It took me a minute to get there and there's still a lot to find, but definitely felt decent towards the end so let's see overnight what we can cook for tomorrow."
The positive note from the Red Bull garage didn't stop with Hadjar. Max Verstappen guided the team to P3 in both practice hours, suggesting the squad has left the worst of their bouncing issues from Canada behind them. It is a meaningful step forward for a team that arrived in Monaco well aware of the RB22's limitations on bumpy surfaces.
With Ferrari firmly establishing themselves as the team to beat, Hadjar was asked whether Red Bull could close the gap and challenge higher up the order alongside his team-mate.
"Definitely looking to fight some of the Mercedes," he said. "I think the top three are very strong and on a very good momentum, so we need a very strong FP3 to get things working and close the gap. Hopefully we make the most of it and go into Quali and keep ramping up."
For Hadjar, Saturday's sessions will be as much a mental recovery as a technical one — but his measured response to adversity suggests the rookie's composure runs deeper than his practice times might suggest.
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.