Hadjar reveals emotional first thoughts after scoring maiden F1 podium as he explains ‘most pleasing part’ from Zandvoort

Isack Hadjar has explained how he instantly thought of “all the struggles and all the pain” across his motorsport career to date when he crossed the line to claim his first-ever F1 podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Hadjar was one of the stars of the weekend around the Zandvoort track, with the Racing Bulls rookie charging his way to fourth on the grid in Qualifying and brilliantly defending that position on race day.

A late retirement for McLaren driver Lando Norris then promoted Hadjar into the top-three positions, sparking huge celebrations from the Frenchman and his team as they reached the podium and began to process their achievement.

Speaking ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, having had a few days to reflect further on what unfolded, Hadjar revealed the emotional first thoughts that went through his mind when he put his hands on the P3 trophy.

“There was no word, I just went through in my mind all the struggles I’ve been facing in my career to get to F1,” he said. “That’s all I thought about really, all the struggles and all the pain. I’m just happy I never [gave] up.”

An example of that came early in the Zandvoort weekend when Hadjar was restricted to just one lap during second practice due to technical problems, leaving him on the back foot for Saturday’s track action.

However, the youngster immediately put that behind him, coming back fighting in Qualifying and doubling down on his impressive pace in the race – something he has since taken plenty of satisfaction from.

“This is the most pleasing part,” he stressed. “Even during the race I knew I was going to finish fourth. I thought, ‘I’m in control with fourth place, we’re doing an outstanding job’.

“So, first it was a win already to finish fourth on pure pace, beating Ferrari and Mercedes, and obviously the podium is a cherry on the cake. But the most important [thing] is what we’ve built, like the turnaround from Friday to Saturday – that’s what I remember.”

The only dramas for Hadjar came when he broke his trophy during the pit lane celebrations and later lost track of it while travelling between the Netherlands and Italy.

“Honestly, I don’t even know where my trophy is, my broken trophy,” he smiled. “The team is taking care of it, I guess. I left it in good hands, both parts.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I’ll get a new one, I know that, but I want my broken one... We don’t care about the new one because it’s not part of the Grand Prix history!”