Isack Hadjar sends clear message after 'strong' recovery

Isack Hadjar insisted he was "not really surprised" by his own performance after charging from the back of the grid to sixth at the Belgian Grand Prix, pointing to his "strong race pace" at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Red Bull driver climbed 15 places after being forced to start P21 due to a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit allocation.

With a bold two-stop strategy built around the early safety car, Hadjar delivered what he described as his most complete weekend of the season.

The 21-year-old's recovery began immediately. He overtook numerous cars on the opening lap, before twice being pitted behind the safety car after George Russell's retirement to cycle through the soft compound tyre and take the hards to the end of the race.

The strategy proved effective, as he rose from the back of the field after grid penalties to finish sixth. However, it initially left Hadjar questioning the risks he had taken on the first lap of the 44-lap race.

"I was like, 'Why did I take so many risks?' Like, you should have told me, and I'd have stayed last, you know," Hadjar told media, including RacingNews365.

"But obviously, we didn't know there was going to be a safety car then; it was a bit frustrating, but it paid off."

'Frustrating' penalties mask genuine pace

Yet his frustration was clear. The RB22 was unexpectedly competitive at Spa-Francorchamps, and while team-mate Max Verstappen confirmed that strength with a third-place finish, Hadjar's starting position meant he could not capitalise fully on the package underneath him.

Without the engine penalties, his qualifying pace suggested a top-five start was well within reach, potentially putting a podium in play.

"Yeah, that's the issue," the Frenchman said. "Frustrating, because I feel like if I just do the weekend without any penalties, I think we're fighting for the podium, considering the pace."

However, even if Hadjar had not anticipated the strength of the package underneath him, the one-time podium finisher was not shocked by his strong form.

"It's not... I mean, surprising in a way that I didn't believe a track like this would suit us, but not really surprised in terms of my own performance and delivering a strong race pace finally with clean air," he added.

"Silverstone was super frustrating for me, not being able to show the pace, and I was a bit in no man's land. Now, I think this was the most complete one I had, so keep pushing."