BAKU.- Perfect week for Isaac Hadjar in Azerbaijan: renewed on Wednesday by Red Bull for next season, the French pearl, who returned after missing three races due to an injury to her left wrist, managed on Saturday in Baku the third podium of his career in Formula 1.
An early renewal
After having missed the last three races; Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid, due to an injury to his left wrist suffered while practicing boxing during the summer break, Hadjar, who will turn 22 on Monday, arrived on Tuesday at Azerbaijan after signing a contract extension until 2027.
If this outcome hardly offered any doubts after the good start to the season for the Parisian, eighth in the drivers’ championship and who joined Red Bull in January after a promising first year in F1 in the sister team, Racing Bullsthe officialization announced on Wednesday was surprising for its precocity.
The relentless Red Bull team, which does not hesitate to fire its drivers at any time, has the habit of revealing the name of the future teammate of the Dutch quadruple world champion only at the end of the season. Max Verstappenthe boss of the place.
“Since joining us, he has been exceptional both on and off the track. From the first weekend at Melbournewe could see that he had managed this level up with remarkable coolness and that he had earned his position. The decision to extend his contract was therefore imposed as evidence,” he stressed. Laurent Mekies, the head of the Austrian team.
Prudence and growth
With the security of his new contract, Hadjar was eager to do well in Baku, but approached his return to the demanding urban layout with caution.
Despite being deprived of 40 minutes of filming on Thursday during the first free practice session due to a technical problem, the 2024 F2 runner-up calmly built his weekend and made progress with each session.
Highly anticipated in qualifying, where the slightest mistake pays dearly in Azerbaijan, as demonstrated by the accident of the Italian world championship leader, Kimi Antonelli (mercedes), Hadjar did not disappoint by taking fourth place, his second best result of the season in this exercise.
“I am satisfied with my approach and I listened to myself. I signed a contract and I told myself that I had no right to end up against the wall this weekend. Baku is a complicated circuit to return to after two months. I know that, in addition, if I crash, there is the possibility that I will injure my wrist again… I don’t feel like it. I have taken it calmly and it has paid off,” the Frenchman told AFP on Friday.
Deserved podium in Baku
After a good start in the Grand Prix, Hadjar remained fourth for a long time, behind his teammate Verstappen, who was unleashed.
The Frenchman allowed himself the luxury of keeping up with his boxing neighbor, unable to overtake Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
If the team had not decided to favor the Dutchman, he could even have aspired to more, since he seemed in a position to surpass the Australian given his better pace.
But the Parisian played his role perfectly: always on the attack, he did not make any mistakes and did not allow himself to be surprised in the two restarts of the race after the safety car interventions.
Under pressure from the Red Bulls, Piastri made a braking error, which allowed Hadjar to take third place, which he then defended excellently against the Ferrari from Monegasque Charles Leclerc and the leader of WorldAntonelli (mercedes), who were right behind him.
“I am very happy with my return and with my approach, I have built my weekend little by little because it is a difficult circuit and I have not made any mistakes. I am very happy because it is my first real podium achieved thanks to my pace,” he explained.
“I’ve missed driving a lot, so I’m really looking forward to it.” Malaysia“.
