Hadjar hails ‘unreal’ podium result at Dutch GP

Isack Hadjar felt “unreal” after scoring a surprise podium result at the Dutch Grand Prix, and believes this is the first step towards “much more”.

Just 15 races into his rookie Formula 1 season, Hadjar has claimed his first piece of silverware. Having started from fourth place, the Frenchman looked comfortable lapping at the front, as he closely followed Red Bull driver Max Verstappen for the majority of the distance.

The decisive moment came when championship contender Lando Norris pulled off to retire with a reported oil leak, promoting the Racing Bulls driver into the top three positions.

“It feels a bit unreal,” said Hadjar. “What was most surprising for me was keeping that fourth place for the whole race.

“Unfortunately for Lando, we took advantage of his [retirement], but we made no mistakes. The car was on rails the whole weekend, and I'm really happy about myself because I really maximised what I had, made no mistakes and brought home the podium, so I'm so happy for my guys.”

The result ended a five-race streak without a point for Hadjar, and pushed him into the top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship standings, where he sits level with Nico Hulkenberg on 37 points.

The 20-year-old becomes the eighth podium finisher of the season, and Racing Bulls the sixth team to be represented in the post-race ceremony.

Asked if he could have dreamed of this result as a young kid, Hadjar said: “Yeah, that was always the target since I was a kid. This is a first step, my first podium and hopefully much more.”