Isack Hadjar was happy with his result in F1 Las Vegas GP which on expected terms, as Liam Lawsom apologises to Oscar Piastri for Turn 1 hit.
Even if Visa Cash App RB’s Hadjar was higher up after qualifying in F1 Las Vegas GP, the Frenchman wouldn’t have finished inside the Top 5 due to pace deficit. He ran as high as fifth at one point after a good start, but got chewed up by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
He had Williams’ Carlos Sainz to company, but the Spaniard had better pace to finish nearly 10s ahead of Hadjar, who thought eighth was the best result possible. It converted to sixth due to McLaren’s double disqualification, as the Frenchman was happy that the points helped to solidify sixth in standings.
“Happy with my race, no, nothing more we can add than, we’re just a bit slow,” said Hadjar to media. “No [the aggressive message on radio wasn’t because I was out of position on the grid due to qualifying]. I think even if we started on pole, we would have finished eighth. That was our, our pace today, so no regrets. I think we played it a bit too safe on the tyre management.
“But on strategy, nothing could have been better, so yeah, I did it. Yes [on set-up wise, I protected tyres more than it was needed]. Yeah, I enjoyed because I was competitive. I think we’ve done a very good job since FP1. No mistakes, not a single mistake, so very, very positive weekend. We just need a bit more pace, but I know we’ll come in Qatar and I mean, these tracks will suit our car better, so it’s fine.
“Overall, no, it’s good. I don’t know what it gives me in the championship standings, but it’s four points (eight points). It’s good for the team for the sixth place in the constructors’, I think we were solidifying it a lot. So, so it’s good,” summed up Hadjar, as teammate Lawson ended up outside points due to Lap 1 run-in with Piastri. The Kiwi was not penalised, but he apologised to the Australian.
He was trying to not hit a car in front, which swayed him into the side of Piastri, who dropped out. But Lawson suffered damage in subsequent laps to pit for a front wing change, which sealed his fate. “It was very slippery, and the guys in front, I was hitting towards the back of whoever was in front of me and basically just, I had to try and avoid it,” he said to media.
“I mean, honestly, I haven’t even seen the incident. I just know I made contact. So yeah, obviously apologies to Oscar and to our guys, because I wasn’t trying to overtake or anything like that. It was, obviously in hindsight I would’ve braked a bit earlier and just tried to get through Turn 1 safely. So, yeah, big apologies to the team and obviously to Oscar, as well.
“I didn’t mean to run into him. It’s just a shame to start on the points and not finish in the points. Yeah. We were miles back after that, so not really a lot we could do from there,” summed up Lawson, who suffered in Las Vegas and couldn’t pounce on the gritty drive like he did in Brazil.
Here’s race start: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2025-formula-1-las-vegas-gp-verstappen-seizes-lead-as-norris-runs-wide-in-dramatic-start.1849555190074067783
Here’s Oscar Piastri on Turn 1 move