“The car was very fast but hard to drive,” claims Hadjar after his turbulent Montreal race.
After the race, Hadjar reflected honestly on a challenging but ultimately rewarding afternoon. He said: “I started off with a very good launch but struggled a lot with pace during the race.”
25 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Isack Hadjar delivered a gritty drive to fifth place despite a difficult and penalty filled afternoon. The French rookie picked up two penalties — one for moving under braking in a battle with Charles Leclerc, and another for a yellow flag infringement. Despite losing around 30 seconds of race time as a result, he still managed to hold onto fifth place at the chequered flag, underlining both his pace and his resilience.

"The car was very fast but hard to drive compared to yesterday when I felt more comfortable, so I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted.”
Hadjar believed a stronger result was possible without the setbacks: “I think we could have secured fourth place, but had to settle for fifth in the end.”
Despite the difficulties, he emphasised the team’s progress: “The overall car performance this weekend was very positive – we took a big step forward since Miami and made the most of the weekend. I hope we can keep the same momentum for Monaco.”

‘Turbulent Montreal race’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28574


Hadjar laments ‘mistakes’ in 'hard to drive' Red Bull
Isack Hadjar was left with mixed feelings in Montreal after finishing fifth in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
25 May 2026
Formula One - Official Site

The 21-year-old managed to leapfrog Leclerc in the pit stop period, but soon came under pressure from the Ferrari man – and this is where his problems started. He was reported to the stewards for a late change of direction when defending, and was handed a 10-second time penalty for a defensive move he apologised for post-race.
"I didn't mean to send [Leclerc] in the grass obviously, he's a very clean driver, so I think I just apologised because it was a bit stupid," Hadjar said afterwards. “I don’t have the same feeling as [Saturday], I didn’t feel comfortable at all in the car. [Saturday] in the Sprint, Qualifying, I had very good pace, I knew what was going on. Today, I couldn’t make it happen. This causes then – I have to focus very hard on keeping it on the track and making mistakes so yeah…”

‘Apologised post-race’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...0eptQckTJSbQna


Isack Hadjar apologises to Charles Leclerc as he admits Canadian GP penalties were fair
Isack Hadjar was twice penalised by the Formula 1 stewards at the Canadian Grand Prix
26 May 2026
Sam Hall, Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Isack Hadjar has apologised to Charles Leclerc and conceded his two penalties at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix were "fair". Turning specifically to the incident with Leclerc, in which Hadjar made three separate moves across the track - two in defence, and one to take the racing line for the final chicane - the Red Bull driver held his hands up and apologised to his rival, citing 'confusion' as being behind the near-race-ending moment.

“I was too harsh," he said. "If anything, it wasn’t even on purpose. I just got confused about where he was heading. So I didn’t mean to send him on the grass, obviously. He’s a very clean driver, so I just apologised because it was a bit stupid.”

‘Twice penalised’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109624...ties-were-fair


What Red Bull made of Isack Hadjar’s Canadian GP and double F1 penalty
Red Bull has cast its verdict on Isack Hadjar's Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
29 May 2026
Lewis Larkam , Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

“I think Isack did a very strong weekend,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies summarised to media including Crash.net. “In fairness to him, he did a very strong first three races. He had a difficult weekend in Miami. I think this weekend he was on the right window straight away. I think speed was not the issue.”

“The one-minute penalty is a bit too much. I think he got probably close to a one-minute penalty. But in terms of underlying speed, he was at the right level.”

‘Red Bull has cast its verdic’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109633...ble-f1-penalty


Mekies is aware that "the next three to five tenths are always the hardest ones to find”
26 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

“Firstly, congratulations to everyone at Red Bull Ford Powertrains. To claim our very first podium with our own PU, in only its fifth race, is truly a historic moment, especially when you consider the pedigree and experience of our competitors. A PU on its own is not enough and of course this result is also down to the hard work of everyone back on campus in Milton Keynes and here at the track.”

He noted that the team is steadily closing the gap to the front: “Overall, maybe we have closed the gap a little bit more to those ahead of us and this confirms we are moving in the right direction, but we are well aware that the next three to five tenths that we need to find are always the hardest ones.” Mekies highlighted Verstappen’s consistency and racecraft: “Max was as strong as always, very fast and very consistent, knowing the right time to apply pressure.”

He also praised Hadjar’s performance despite the penalties: “Isack was on the pace and got into the right rhythm from the start of the weekend and he delivered an impressive performance, also having to deal with a couple of penalties. It was important for the championship to have both cars scoring good points.” Mekies made it clear that Red Bull is far from finished in its development push: “We still have a lot to learn about how to extract everything out of the package we have, while at the same time, everyone in Milton Keynes is working flat out to bring our next development to the fight at the race track.”

‘Red Bull is far from finished in its development push’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28575