Isack Hadjar produced one of the standout recoveries of the Belgian Grand Prix, climbing from 21st on the grid to sixth after Red Bull used two pit stops in consecutive laps to create greater strategic freedom. Although the French driver benefited from the timing of a Virtual Safety Car, his pace and consistency throughout the Spa-Francorchamps weekend led Laurent Mekies to describe it as his best race since joining Red Bull.
Lando Norris was not the only driver who could reasonably have felt he deserved more from the race. Isack Hadjar also completed an impressive comeback from the final row following a power-unit penalty, turning a weekend initially shaped around helping Max Verstappen into a highly competitive Sunday performance of his own.
Isack Hadjar starts 21st after Red Bull power-unit penalty
Isack Hadjar’s Saturday was effectively structured around providing Max Verstappen with a tow in qualifying. With a grid penalty already confirmed because of power-unit component changes, the French driver had little to gain from focusing exclusively on his own starting position.
He therefore began the Belgian Grand Prix from 21st place and started on a set of hard tyres, giving Red Bull the possibility of considering several different strategic paths. Hadjar could have extended his opening stint if the race had remained green, waiting for a later neutralisation or another opportunity to make his first stop at a reduced time cost.
However, an early Safety Car would also create immediate strategic possibilities. That scenario arrived when George Russell retired following his opening-lap incident, bringing out the Safety Car and prompting Red Bull to act quickly. The circumstances surrounding the Mercedes driver’s retirement were later discussed in greater detail after George Russell asked Mercedes for the same car as Kimi Antonelli.
Red Bull immediately called Isack Hadjar into the pits and replaced his starting hard tyres with a fresh set of mediums. Yet the team’s unusual strategy was only beginning.
Why Red Bull stopped Isack Hadjar twice in two laps
On the following lap, Isack Hadjar returned to the pits and switched back to another set of hard tyres. It was his second available hard set, as teams had prepared two sets in anticipation of the possibility that a Safety Car might influence the race.
The basic idea was to satisfy the mandatory requirement to use two different tyre compounds while the field was still running behind the Safety Car. Because the time lost during a stop under neutralised conditions is significantly lower than during normal racing, Red Bull could complete that obligation immediately and then shape the remainder of the strategy according to how the race developed.
This left several options available for Isack Hadjar’s later stop. At his next visit to the pits, the French driver could return to the medium compound. Alternatively, he could refit the original set of hard tyres used at the start and attempt to reach the chequered flag while pushing harder over the final stint.
The plan worked because Isack Hadjar eventually chose to return to the hard tyres, the compound on which he felt more comfortable. That preference contrasted with Max Verstappen’s experience, as the two Red Bull drivers did not have the same level of confidence on the harder compound.
“The objective was to have more options later,” Isack Hadjar explained after the race. “We lost a few positions, but we knew I would recover them fairly quickly. It gave us the flexibility to choose later. I chose the hard tyres, which I preferred, and it worked.”
Isack Hadjar admits Red Bull’s pit stops initially confused him
Although the strategy eventually produced the intended result, even Isack Hadjar was initially surprised by the decision to complete two stops in such quick succession. The French driver admitted that it took him several laps to understand precisely what Red Bull was trying to achieve.
“I was also a little confused by the pit stops,” Isack Hadjar said. “After a few laps, I finally understood why we had done it. I have to admit that I was a little slow to react.”
Isack Hadjar had pushed hard before recognising that Red Bull was using the neutralisation to complete the two-compound requirement as cheaply as possible.
“I was wondering: why did I take so many risks? You should have told me, and I would have stayed in last position, but obviously we could not know there would be a Safety Car. It was a little frustrating, but in the end it paid off.”
By dealing with the compound requirement during the opening phase of the race, Red Bull created valuable flexibility for the second half of the Grand Prix. That became particularly important when another neutralisation presented the team with an opportunity to stop at a reduced cost.
Virtual Safety Car completes Hadjar’s effective one-stop race
Despite the two visits to the pit lane at the beginning, Isack Hadjar effectively completed the competitive part of the race as a one-stop strategy. He returned to the pits during a Virtual Safety Car period and was able to refit a set of hard tyres.
Red Bull’s early decision to satisfy the two-compound rule proved crucial because it allowed Isack Hadjar to save several seconds during the later stop. The French driver was no longer forced to select a different compound and could instead return to the tyre on which he felt most confident.
The timing of the Virtual Safety Car clearly helped, but it only created an opportunity. Isack Hadjar still needed the pace, tyre management and consistency to convert that advantage into a result.
From the back of the grid, he steadily recovered the positions initially lost through the double stop. His speed allowed him to progress through the field and eventually challenge drivers who had started much closer to the front.
Isack Hadjar ultimately crossed the line in sixth position, gaining 15 places from his starting slot. His recovery formed part of a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix whose full finishing order reflected several contrasting strategies and major incidents.
Laurent Mekies calls Spa Hadjar’s best Red Bull race
The combination of Isack Hadjar’s race pace and the strength he had demonstrated throughout the entire weekend led Laurent Mekies to describe the Belgian Grand Prix as the French driver’s strongest performance for Red Bull.
Laurent Mekies delivered that assessment both over team radio and during the usual post-race interviews.
“Without doubt, it was his best race with us,” the Red Bull team principal said enthusiastically.
Laurent Mekies stressed that Isack Hadjar’s performance at Spa was not simply an isolated peak. Instead, he viewed it as the latest stage in a consistent pattern of progress.
“Honestly, it is not just an isolated spike,” Laurent Mekies continued. “He is showing constant improvement from race to race in terms of speed. Every time he goes out on track, he delivers stronger performance.”
The Red Bull team principal had been encouraged by Isack Hadjar’s pace from the beginning of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, not only by the final result on Sunday.
“Today was another step forward, and this weekend was another progression because he was extremely fast from FP1,” Laurent Mekies explained.
The unusual strategy then gave Isack Hadjar the possibility of finishing ahead of Lando Norris, although Laurent Mekies acknowledged that the timing of the Virtual Safety Car had contributed to that outcome.
“And yes, we put him on a slightly unusual strategy which, in the end, also because of the timing of the VSC, gave him the possibility of essentially beating Lando Norris,” Laurent Mekies said. “So it went well.”
“He was very, very solid. His pace was worthy of the top three. We are genuinely very happy with his progress.”
Hadjar’s Spa weekend showed more than the final result
Sixth place did not tell the complete story of Isack Hadjar’s Belgian Grand Prix. His weekend began with the knowledge that he would start near the back because of his power-unit penalty, while his qualifying programme was also adapted to support Max Verstappen with a slipstream.
He nevertheless remained competitive from Free Practice 1 onwards and then executed a complicated race in which Red Bull asked him to stop twice in consecutive laps before committing to a long and demanding hard-tyre stint.
The Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car helped make the strategy possible, but the result also depended on Isack Hadjar recovering the positions lost during the opening sequence and maintaining enough pace to keep Lando Norris behind.
For Laurent Mekies, that combination of speed, discipline and strategic adaptability made Spa Isack Hadjar’s strongest Red Bull performance so far. The French driver began the race in 21st position, completed two pit stops within two laps and still reached the chequered flag in sixth, turning what could have been a damage-limitation weekend into one of his most convincing Formula 1 drives.
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