Isack Hadjar admitted his surprise at the race pace of his Racing Bulls car as he claimed his maiden Formula 1 podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The French rookie came home in third to secure his maiden top-three finish, inheriting it after Lando Norris retired late on, who was holding second position.
Starting fourth, Hadjar was able to resist the early challenge of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell.
And as the race progressed, Hadjar continued to maintain enough race pace to hold off their advances, and subsequently take another major milestone in his F1 career.
Hadjar has been a consistent and impressive performer across the season, and the result puts him 10th in the Drivers’ Championship, equal on points with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg on 37.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week after the race, Hadjar said he “did not expect” to finish on the podium, saying a more routine points finish was a more “realistic” option.
“Yeah, I mean, outstanding day,” he said. “I did not expect that waking up this morning. I was being very realistic.
“I knew there was George behind me and both Ferraris. I also didn’t run on Friday, any long run. So I didn’t have a clue really. So yeah, to cross the line third is just unreal.”
Hadjar added: “I knew it would be very hard to fight Ferrari and Mercedes, but yeah, it’s more like towards the last 20 laps, I was like, ‘OK, if anything happens at the front, then I’m in an opposing position.’ And then when Lando had the issue, I knew I was going to finish third.”
Hadjar ‘really comfortable’ after early defence of Leclerc
At the start, Hadjar maintained his fourth place, despite starting on the dirty side of the track.
Leclerc overtook Russell for fifth, which aided his cause, but was quickly aware that the Monegasque’s racey start was going to provide him with a stern test of nerve and race craft.
“Yeah, it was very tricky,” he reflected. “Thankfully, I had an OK start to keep fourth.
“And from there, like on the opening laps, I knew Charles would be trying to go for the move, which he did.”
But Hadjar quickly found a rhythm which he would keep for all of the race, despite having to negotiate three separate Safety Car periods, and showed maturity beyond his years in defence of the cars behind.
“I was really comfortable,” he admitted. “And on the brakes, I made sure I defended the right way.
“And that’s what we did. And then once I was holding him for a while, I actually realised that, ‘OK, we had the car pace to fight for big points.’
And towards the end of the race, I was like, ‘OK, if anything happens at the front, actually, I’m on a podium finish position.'”
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