Interview of Isack Hadjar in Spa: « I talk a lot with Helmut Marko, he likes me, I’m lucky »

As a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, how has your experience been with them so far? What support and guidance do you receive from them and how does it contribute to your development as a driver?

If I am in F2, it is thanks to them, there is the financing. And outside the track, the follow-up is perfect, we have access to everything. We have a better training structure, tracks, we have big simulators to train. I also spend quite a bit of time at the Red Bull factory. The person in charge of the academy is Guillaume Roquelin, who won four titles with Vettel, he was his race engineer. So we are dealing with people who have won in F1. I also have the right to attend simulator sessions, especially when Max Verstappen is driving in the simulator. Even though most of the time, I focus on my work and on the F2 simulator.

You moved quite quickly from F4 to F3 and then to F2. What was the most difficult transition for you?

The transition from F3 to F2. It’s a complicated car to drive, it’s heavy, everything changes. And then the level is much higher. The slightest mistake we make, we pay for it dearly. Also, everything related to tire degradation, the longer race on Sundays… Everything is more complicated in F2.

Justement, comment est-ce que tu te prépares physiquement et mentalement pour les courses et pour les week-ends ?

Exactly, how do you prepare yourself physically and mentally for the races and weekends?

I have my own physio, I have been with him for three years, I spend a little bit of my life with him. We see each other all the time on the slopes, and if that’s not the case, we see each other in Paris. I have the program that I follow all year round. If we are both in Paris, we see each other all the time, and if he’s not there, I follow my program.

What does this program consist of?

Six days a week of training, two hours a day.

You had already mentioned your ambition to reach Formula 1 quickly. What are your goals for this season to fulfill this dream?

For now, I am just focusing on finishing the season strong, and then we’ll see about the next season, I don’t have any plan at all. I know I will still be with Red Bull, that’s good, but which championship, which team, I don’t know. The objective is just to finish the season very strongly, there are four races left and we will just give our maximum, try to win.

Do you consider your young age to be a strong point in attracting Formula 1 teams?

I think that if we achieve solid results, being young definitely has the advantage. It can seem more impressive than someone who is twenty-one, twenty-two years old, and it can also be an excuse when we underperform. So yes, it’s for sure an advantage to be young, that’s clear.

You are once again part of the Hitech team in F2 this year, what do you think about having this continuity with them, what are the advantages you see in the collaboration for a longer term?

For me, it was natural to be with them, even if it doesn’t go as I would have liked. The processes, their way of working, I really like it. In the end, they are not the same engineers, they are not the same people, but they still have the same methods, so for me, it seemed normal to stay with them.

Would it have been harder to start in F2 with another team, for example?

Honestly, I don’t think so, because it’s such a different championship that in the end, you forget everything you’ve done in F3. And I have my habits with them, so I’m happy to keep them.

You have already mentioned your difficulties in adapting to F2, the car is complicated, how do you work from weekend to weekend to try and learn a little more, to improve at that level?

Even without working, it’s the experience that you accumulate every weekend that is huge. The track time is quite limited, there are only 14 meetings. After the first meeting, I really felt like I knew nothing, I really felt like a true rookie. Now, after ten races, I’m starting to better understand the car and I feel better every time I get in it. I feel more confident every time.

Do you often analyze data with your engineers? Do you also work on that?

Yes, absolutely. We spend more time working, looking at data, being on the simulator than actually driving in the car. That’s all it is, the more work you can do outside of the car, the better prepared you will be when you get in the car.

And is that a big difference compared to the F3?

Yes, indeed. Honestly, the F3, I think it’s more about gut feeling, it’s easier to drive, and even my driving style really suited this car, it’s different. Now, I have to force myself to do things that I wouldn’t normally do, the car is quite unique.

Regarding this F2 season, what would be the assessment you currently draw from it?

I think it was very inconsistent. There were weekends where we were really fast and I couldn’t put everything together. I think of the Baku weekend where we had the cars to pole position and I hit the wall, so it was hard to digest. Then there were weekends where I was doing well and then I had a mechanical problem like in Monaco, I lost a victory because of that. So it’s been quite up and down, and I would say that I struggled a bit in qualifying, it wasn’t easy. But recently, in the last two races, we were very close to pole position, so we had a good car and I’m starting to understand things. And that’s also motivating.

Is it also a question of pressure, that sometimes you struggle to handle?

I think it does play a role, yes, clearly, the pressure and the desire to always want to be in pole position, even when it’s not possible. As a result, it leads to major mistakes. But I have someone who helps me, someone from Red Bull, to better manage this pressure.

Apart from stress, what would you like to improve, and conversely, what are your strengths?

I would say that I am a quite well-rounded pilot, although there is always room for improvement in all areas. However, I think my biggest strength is that I am a good racer and that my race pace has always been very good. As I said before, I think I am a little bit less strong in qualifying. But I believe that this is something that comes with experience. It is a quite specific session, and we have had good qualifying sessions recently, we were close to pole position.

To come back to your collaboration with your teammate Jak Crawford, how is it going? Does it also help you understand the car and improve yourself?

I have a good teammate this year, and we get along really well outside of racing, so that’s cool. Of course, we always want to finish ahead of each other, but it’s nice to have a really fast guy to rely on. For example, after finishing my practice session, I noticed that he was faster than me on five corners. It’s really interesting to go and see how he did it and why. Before that, I felt a bit alone. I wasn’t challenged enough, but this year, I feel normal.

To come back to this past weekend, do you think the Spa circuit is more of a strength or a weakness for you?

I would say more of a strength, I have always been very fast on this track, very unlucky, but in any case, I love the layout. They say it will rain a little all weekend, so I’m a bit disappointed. I enjoy driving on dry conditions here, it’s one of the best tracks in the world.

So, what would be your goal for this weekend? Are you aiming for a specific position or a top ranking?

It’s more, I give everything and I’ll see, but at Silverstone, we were two-tenths off the pole position, and we finished ninth, in Budapest, we were three-tenths off, we finished fifth, and now, if I could go for a top three finish, that would be great.

There was Dilano Van’t Hoff’s accident recently. Do you think this track can be dangerous, and that there could be changes?

I think it’s always dangerous. If there’s a race in the rain, and it’s raining heavily, I wouldn’t be willing to go. As long as it’s dry, it’s fine, but if the conditions, at that time, are difficult and visibility is poor, we shouldn’t hesitate (not to drive, Editor’s note). That’s the real problem, it’s the easiest solution.

Hitech has announced its intention to enter F1 in 2026. How do you view this announcement? Do you think it will have an impact on your entry into F1?

Honestly, absolutely not, for me it’s Red Bull, and we’re talking about 2026 here, so it’s far away… I hope to already be in F1 by then. Red Bull every day (laughs). My goal is to spend as little time as possible in F2.

Do you often have contacts with the hierarchy at Red Bull?

Yes, with Helmut Marko, all the time. He’s the one who decides where I go, what I do, which championship, which team, that’s it.

Knowing what happened with Nyck de Vries, are you handling Marko’s pressure well?

Yes, I’m lucky, honestly, he likes me. He likes it when things go well, he likes you less when they don’t. (laughs)