The Red Bull Racing driver, Isack Hadjar, has called for a complete review of the engine of his unit after experiencing several mechanical failures during the Singapore Grand Prix 2026. While his teammate, Max Verstappen, achieved pole position, Hadjar endured a truly catastrophic week at the Marina Bay circuit.
After retiring from Saturday’s Sprint race due to a terminal failure of the power unit, the team made an impressive effort to replace the engine components before the afternoon qualifying session. However, the quick repairs did not hold up.
During Q1, Hadjar reported via radio that his engine had shut down, forcing him to return to the pit. In a new attempt to set a time, he lost all gears due to another gearbox failure. This meant he could not set a representative time and ended up qualifying in last place, 22nd, although he will actually start in 21st due to an engine penalty applied earlier to Mercedes driver George Russell.
When asked by Sky Sports F1 presenter Craig Slater whether those incidents made it easier to accept the disastrous result, Hadjar dismissed the idea. “No, I want to drive. Honestly, I don’t care about P22. I just want to get out there and do my job,” he stated.
The French driver was particularly upset about losing valuable time on track considering that his car has the potential to advance in the elimination rounds. “I have a lot of soft tires in the pit that won’t be used. And that’s what bothers me the most right now. I just want to be here and compete with the others,” Hadjar expressed.
With such an unfortunate qualifying session, it is being considered that the Milton Keynes team may adopt a mechanical unit change strategy, given that Hadjar will already start at the back of the grid. When Slater suggested the possibility of adding a new engine to his annual allocation, Hadjar supported the idea.
“Yes, of course. We need new materials. Tomorrow is an opportunity because everything this weekend is breaking,” he confirmed. The team principal, Laurent Mekies, has not yet confirmed whether the team will break park closed rules to install a completely new engine, but serious reliability issues will be a central topic in their urgent overnight meeting.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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