In an unconventional situation for Formula 1, Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar managed to move from the last line of the grid to sixth place in the Belgian Grand Prix, completing two pitstops during the first two laps of the race at Spa-Francorchamps.
Hadjar, who started from the last position due to a penalty related to the use of his fifth engine of the season, decided to begin with hard tires. After overtaking two rivals, his strategy was impacted by the deployment of the safety car following an accident involving George Russell on the first lap.
The Red Bull team opted for a first pitstop to switch to medium tires, and subsequently, at the end of the second lap, another pitstop to revert back to hard tires. ‘The goal was to have options later on’, Hadjar commented to Canal+. ‘We lost some positions, but we knew we would recover them quickly. It was a calculated decision to gain flexibility later in the race, and it worked well.’
Although the double stop may seem risky, Hadjar admitted that he was initially confused by the tactic. ‘Even I was a bit lost with the pitstops. After several laps, I understood the reasoning behind this strategy’, he confessed with laughter.
Ultimately, Hadjar completed a race of practically a single stop, and his impressive pace, with his ten best average times at 1m49.727s, was even superior to that of Max Verstappen. This allowed him to place within the top ten by lap 15.
Having finished in sixth position, Hadjar resisted the offensive from Lando Norris, who made his only stop on lap 30. The head of the Red Bull team, Laurent Mekies, praised Hadjar’s performance as his best of the season, highlighting his consistent improvement and competitive pace, which ranked among the best in the race.
This performance has allowed Hadjar to accumulate a total of 60 points this season, doubling the score achieved by the second car of the team last season, driven by Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
