Red Bull upgrades enable Isack Hadjar to enjoy first proper fight with F1's "big boys” at Austrian GP

Isack Hadjar mixed it up with several world champions in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

29 Jun 2026

Hadjar went wheel-to-wheel with his F1 hero Hamilton

Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar says he had “good fun” in the Austrian Grand Prix during what he described as his first proper fight with the “big boys.”

Having started from eighth on the grid, Hadjar went wheel-to-wheel with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and also battled with McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

He eventually finished sixth, but he felt that with a better starting position he had the pace to be as high as fourth with the upgraded RB22.

Hadjar admitted he was "too kind" in his battle with Hamilton

“I don't remember a race in my career where I fought with the big boys, like the Ferrari, the McLarens,” he said when asked by Crash.net about his frantic afternoon.

“So that was good fun, that was a first. And I think we succeeded quite well. But yeah, if we had started a bit further up the grid, if it wasn't for deployment issues, I think there was a fourth place in the locker. So it's positive.”

Asked if he’d learned anything from fighting with Hamilton he said: “No, it was just cool, but nothing that I necessarily learned. Maybe I was a bit too kind with Lewis into Turn 4, I remember. But apart from that, I think I fought pretty well.”

Hadjar confirmed that the brake issues he suffered earlier in the weekend affected him again in the race.

“Quite a few lockups, very poor confidence. I had to take some margin each lap, but I felt that struggle for everyone around me, I was not alone. I think it could be track specific hot track temperatures, and the tyres felt very poor.”

Hadjar took a strong sixth in his upgraded Red Bull

Hadjar agreed that Red Bull's upgrade package, which helped team mate Max Verstappen to second place, had paid dividends – and that there is more to come.

“Definitely feel it in the race pace,” he said. “I think today we had the second quickest car. Usually we struggle more with the race pace than qualifying pace. This weekend was more equal.

“So very good on that aspect. So, yeah, you do feel it. But I feel like the car was not in the right window, and still it's fast, so it's encouraging.

“We had the first update in Miami, did a big step forward. Now we did a nice step in the race. On one lap, it was still not like the others, Mercedes, I think, was still flying. But very encouraging."