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Isack Hadjar · 2026 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Walk

Hadjar says penalty cost him chance to challenge Verstappen and Hamilton

Archive photograph: Isack Hadjar · 2026 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Walk · 2026-03-08Archive photo · 2026-03-08 · Yu Chu Chin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Isack Hadjar called his five-place penalty a major disappointment after qualifying third at Sepang. The FIA said it put him eighth on the grid; its race classification lists him fifth.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · · 1 min

Isack Hadjar called his five-place grid penalty a major disappointment. He said he had the chance to fight Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but would have to start from eighth.

Hadjar qualified third at Sepang. The FIA reported that a five-place penalty for an internal combustion engine change moved him to eighth on the starting grid. Verstappen took pole, with Hamilton second in qualifying.

Hadjar also said he thought second was the best result he could have achieved in qualifying. The FIA’s race classification lists him fifth.

Sources 03
  1. SOURCEHadjar in mineur door gemiste kans tegen Verstappen en HamiltonRacingNews365 Nederland
  2. PRIMARY SOURCEF1 – Verstappen storms to first pole of 2026 at Sepang as Hamilton hands Ferrari front row startFIA news and transcripts
  3. PRIMARY SOURCEF1 – Verstappen wins dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Antonelli and HamiltonFIA news and transcripts
Source context

Hadjar’s disappointment, assessment of his qualifying ceiling and sense of a missed opportunity are his reported views. His fifth-place finish does not establish how he would have performed from third on the grid.