Hadjar could have ‘easily taken the lead’ before power loss

Isack Hadjar believes he could have “easily” taken the lead in the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix – if only his Red Bull had the electrical punch to match his lightning-fast start.

Instead, the French driver’s explosive launch at Albert Park quickly turned into a frustrating scramble as an energy management issue drained his battery just when he needed it most.

What began as a dream opening lap quickly spiraled into a painful “what if” for the 21-year-old.

Lining up third on the grid after a stunning qualifying performance, Hadjar reacted brilliantly when the lights went out, immediately challenging polesitter George Russell for the lead.

For a few fleeting seconds, the Red Bull driver looked poised to steal the spotlight as he settled in third position behind race leader Charles Leclerc and Russell. And then the power vanished.

“The start was amazing – I mean, I started the race with no battery for the launch,” Hadjar commented. “I had a very good launch, I was taking the lead easy. At least that's a good point of the day, we had a very good start.”

But just as he sensed the lead was within reach, his RB22 ran out of electrical deployment.

“And once I thought, ‘oh, I'm going to take the lead’, no more power – so that was great. You can imagine, for like a couple of laps, I'm spending time to just recover.

“The engine sounded terrible, so I knew I was not going to finish the race. It's a shame; we'd be in the mix with, I think, Lewis.”

Within moments, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad swept past him, and Lewis Hamilton soon followed, pushing Hadjar out of the top three before the opening lap was even complete.

Red Bull ‘need to do better'

Hadjar later clarified that the depleted battery issue wasn’t a technical failure – but rather a scenario the team hadn’t properly anticipated.

Under Formula 1’s new power unit rules, energy management has become a critical factor at race starts, and the Red Bull driver admitted the team had not fully simulated the conditions he encountered.

“No, it's not a technical issue. It's just we need to do better to avoid this from happening,” he explained.

“We didn't manage to simulate it in the whole six days of testing, in free practice as well. Honestly, it's just new scenarios. A race scenario is different. It’s a good experience at least.”

The energy deficit soon left Hadjar vulnerable on the straights, where rivals blasted past him with significant speed advantages.

Despite fighting hard to stay in the mix, the uphill battle eventually ended on lap 11 when Hadjar’s car broke down, due to an apparent engine or hydraulic issue, after he had been passed by the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.

“It's hard to fight someone who's going 30km/h faster than you in the straight,” Hadjar commented. “That was my only highlight of the day.”

The abrupt end was particularly frustrating given the promise he had shown all weekend. His third-place qualifying result had already turned heads, especially considering how previous team-mates had struggled alongside Max Verstappen in recent years.

• 2026 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

But Hadjar remains confident.

“Honestly, I felt great out there,” he said. “Zero mistakes the whole weekend. I feel very comfortable, and it's a shame. I wish I could be still on track fighting for third. It would be fun.”

“Of course, [outperforming my predecessors] gives good confidence, but I never doubted that. I'm here to take those points, be on the podium, and today we went completely wrong. It's early days.”

For Hadjar, the message is clear: the pace is there – and if Red Bull can get the energy management right next time, he believes the fight at the front is well within reach.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook