Hadjar outlines objective to "push and bring points" after Singapore qualifying
After failing to set a lap-time in Saturday's qualifying session ahead of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar gave a candid overview of his session and the weekend so far. The French driver, who has suffered a range of reliability issues over the course of the season, was forced back into his garage prior to the end of Q1 due to suspected power unit issues.
Speaking to the media immediately after the end of Q1, Hadjar stated: "I’m craving to be out there on track […] and do my best" however the three-time podium finisher experienced his first Q1 elimination of the season. The French driver further added that "I like the qualifying adrenaline" and so even though, "I [Hadjar] knew it was the end [...] I didn’t want to stop on track". There can be no doubt that Hadjar's disappointment would have been doubled to have missed out as his teammate, Max Verstappen, went on to qualify on pole position.
Throughout the opening part of qualifying, Hadjar repeatedly reported issues to his team on the radio and made multiple visits to his garage for adjustments however these adjustments ultimately proved to be futile. The damage, which Hadjar explained as "I broke the gearbox basically", was only one half of the difficult Saturday that he experienced after retiring from the sprint earlier in the day. Speaking about his weekend, the French driver was clear that "we’ve had issues in every session but FP1".
Ultimately, based on his own assessment, Hadjar noted that "the car was absolutely damaged" and any further changes would not have fixed the terminal issue at hand. However, even with the issues across the second day of running in Singapore, the French driver remained focused on the task at hand, citing the example of Carlos Sainz in 2025 who started on the back-row but finished in the points.
Hadjar confirmed that "I'm going to give it my best", further highlighting "I still want to push and bring points". His team, Red Bull Racing, are in a close fight with the reigning Constructors' world champions McLaren for third place in the championship standings so any points that Hadjar can contribute from Sunday's Grand Prix will be vitally important.
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