Max Verstappen has revealed team-mate Isack Hadjar’s tow was the reason why he was able to lock-out the front-row for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen got himself planted onto P2 on the grid, for the 44-lap race at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps, after qualifying, on Saturday.
The Red Bull driver was just over three-tenths off pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli, after a frantic yet crucial final flying lap during the top 10 shootout.
Reflecting on qualifying, after a difficult run of races in terms of balance at Austria and Silverstone, Verstappen was pretty appreciative of the RB22.
“I mean, I think overall the whole weekend, the balance of the car has been quite decent,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think we’re just a bit slow on the straight. But yeah, the car has been in the window, just trying to fine-tune a little bit.
“And yeah, it was the same qualifying. Just at one point you’re a bit stuck in terms of how much more lap time you can extract out of it, to be honest, because every lap that I did was a little bit faster.”
The 28-year-old, however, explained how the team still has a lot to debrief to get his car in the right operating window for the race, on Sunday.
“But yeah, at one point, I mean, flat is flat. So there’s no more time to gain in corners,” he added.
“So that’s something maybe we have to review. Maybe we’re too easy flat, I don’t know. But yeah, the car was good.”
Isack Hadjar the reason “I’m sitting up here” – Max Verstappen on F1 Belgian GP qualifying help
Hadjar has closed up to the Dutchman, in terms of pure pace, in the last couple of weekends.
That said, heading into qualifying on Saturday, the French-Algerian racing driver had already consigned his fate to a massive grid drop, all the way towards the back of the grid, after taking additional PU elements on his RB22.
This gave the Milton-Keynes-based team an opportunity to deploy the 21-year-old during Q3 to help Verstappen’s advances.
Hadjar gave Verstappen a tow all through Sector 3, helping the Dutchman pop into provisional pole, and retain at least P2, once Antonelli took the chequered flag.
“And then, of course, Isack in Q3 helped me a lot with the tow in the final sector,” Verstappen said.
“That’s why, of course, I’m sitting up in here. Otherwise, it could have easily been P6, because the gap behind was so close.
“So yeah, thank you to him for that. So yeah, I think as a team, we did everything we could.”
Red Bull had to execute the tow perfectly, given the fine margins. In the end, Verstappen was only two-and-a-half tenths ahead of Hamilton in sixth.
Verstappen, however, insisted that despite how hairy this manoeuvre looked on the screens, it was indeed executed to perfection by the entire team, especially Hadjar.
“No, no, I was flat out. I would have just pushed him,” he recollected.
“Yeah, but he did amazing. I initially thought, ‘oh my God, it’s too close’. But then actually, it worked out well to the last corner.
“But yeah, it was close, but I trusted him.”
With promising pace in his car, and his undisputed prowess across the 7.004 km circuit, Verstappen would be eager to get off the line well, and on his way to his first win of 2026, at Spa, on Sunday.
READ MORE – Kimi Antonelli storms to dominant F1 Belgian GP pole position
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