Hadjar vents over Red Bull pace after fifth place in Malaysia
Archive photograph: Isack Hadjar · 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, Sprint Qualifying · 2026-03-13Archive photo · 2026-03-13 · Liauzh · CC BY 4.0
After finishing fifth at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Isack Hadjar said he had no power to defend against Ferrari after the final restart. He called Red Bull’s pace a disaster and said it was impossible for the race-pace gap to Max Verstappen to be so large.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Isack Hadjar put his frustration into a blunt comparison: “Max is destroying the Mercedes cars, and they are destroying me!” The Red Bull driver called his team’s pace a complete disaster and said it was impossible for the race-pace gap to four-time world champion Max Verstappen to be so large.
Hadjar was third after the final restart, but Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc passed him before he finished fifth. He told Viaplay he had no power to defend against Ferrari and had not even reached 300 km/h on the straight.
He said the car was difficult to drive and the tyres kept degrading. In the final laps, as they all pushed flat out, the battery was empty and the car would not turn in, he added. The podium itself meant little to him, Hadjar said.
Sources 01
- SOURCEHadjar met stoom uit de oren: "Verstappen vernietigt Mercedes, zij vernietigen mij!"RacingNews365 Nederland
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