Isack Hadjar expresses sadness at all-too-soon F1 season ending

Isack Hadjar has expressed his sadness that the F1 season is on the cusp of ending, declaring that he still feels like he has "a lot in the tank."

In his first season at Red Bull, Hadjar has performed well, scooping three podiums in support of Max Verstappen, but missed the Dutch, Italian, and Spanish Grands Prix after sustaining a wrist injury during the summer break, meaning he did not race between the Hungarian GP on July 26th and the Azerbaijan GP on September 26th. 

This two-month lay-off came after no grands prix were held in April, with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races unable to be held as scheduled due to the Iran War, with one race in the two months between the Japanese GP on March 29th and the Canadian GP on May 26th. 

Although F1 has signalled that the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races will go ahead to finish the season with Imola formally stood down as a replacement venue, there is a slim possibility that the upcoming Las Vegas GP could still be the end of the campaign if tensions in the Middle East re-escalate.

Reflecting on whether his injury lay-off had disrupted his momentum, Hadjar rejected the idea. 

"No, because I got very lucky with the timing because the three races I skipped, I remember, were a bit tricky," Hadjar told media, including RacingNews365.

"I definitely came back when the car made the step. At the same time, I feel like this year, for some reason, I feel like I haven't driven much. 

"Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled, and then I had a two-month break during the summer, and now I feel like I have a lot left in the tank, and considering what's happening in the coming races and we don't know how many more races we are going to have, I'm a bit sad that we're already at the end.

"I feel like I can still go a long way this year."

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Red Bull's step forward

Since Hadjar returned to Baku, the team has enjoyed a strong run of form, with Verstappen winning three races in Bahrain, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mexico City, as well as the Singapore Sprint. 

Hadjar has taken podiums in Baku and Sao Paulo in addition to his one earlier in the season in Monaco, just as the RB22 has taken a dramatic upturn in performance - something he says gives him hope for 2027.

"But I'm proud of the guys for the big step [we made]," he said. 

"In Melbourne we were second off the pace; at round three [in Japan], we were a second off. Now the car is winning races and fighting for podiums, so I can't be more proud of that. 

"The way we developed the car, the ability of the team to progress quickly [makes me] very hopeful for next year."