The odd strategy that made Isack Hadjar’s recovery from 21st to sixth

Red Bull pitted Hadjar on lap one and two at Spa-Francorchamps, a counterintuitive move that paved the way for his “best race” at the team

You don’t typically expect a Formula 1 driver to pit twice at the start of a race and end up sixth under the chequered flag, but that’s exactly what Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar did at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hadjar was starting from the back of the Spa-Francorchamps grid, owing to a penalty after being equipped with his fifth power unit of the season. Expecting a long first stint, the Frenchman started on hard tyres and passed two cars on his way to 18th when the safety car intervened following George Russell’s lap-one crash.

Red Bull therefore decided to pit Hadjar for mediums and, with the two-compound rule ticked off, pitted him again at the end of lap two, giving him hard rubber again.

“The goal was to have options later,” Hadjar explained to French broadcaster Canal+. “We did lose a few positions, but we knew I was going to get them back quite quickly. It gave me flexibility to be able to choose later on. I picked hards, which I preferred, and it worked.”

But the double pitstop was counterintuitive, even for the Red Bull driver.

“Even I was a bit lost with the pitstops. After a few laps I actually understood why we did that. I was a bit slow in the head, I have to say,” he chuckled when speaking to the written press.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

“I was like, why did I take so many risks? You should have told me, I would have stayed last, but obviously we didn't know there was going to be a safety car. It was a bit frustrating, but it paid off.”

Hadjar went on to complete what was, in effect, a one-stop race, as he pitted again under the virtual safety car. His excellent pace – his fastest 10 laps averaged 1m49.727s, better than Max Verstappen’s 1m49.809s – allowed him to reach the top 10 as early as lap 15.

The sophomore eventually held off Lando Norris, who started from 13th and made his only pitstop on lap 30, for sixth under the chequered flag.

“Look, it is his best race with us, no question,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies enthusiastically commented. “Honestly, it's not only a spike. It's been just a little bit better every single race for speed. So he's bringing some speed every time he's driving. Today is another step, this weekend is another step, because he was very, very fast from FP1.

“And yes, we've put him on a slightly unusual strategy, which in the end, with the timing of the VSC, also offered him the possibility to beat Lando fundamentally. So it was good. He was very, very strong. His pace was top-three pace. So very, very happy with his progress.”

Hadjar has now scored 60 points this season – twice as many as Red Bull’s second car collected last season with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at the wheel.

Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Ronald Vording