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Hear from Isack after his first podium with the Team
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Isack battles to podium, heartbreak for Max
Isack Hadjar battled mechanical issues, a brace of Safety Cars and a late-race red flag to take a stunning second career podium and his first with Oracle Red Bull Racing at the end of a dramatic, incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix. There was, however, heartbreak for Max Verstappen, as the four-time champion exited the race with a technical issue almost as soon as the start lights went out.
Starting from P2 on the grid, Max looked ideally placed to capitalise on any error from polesitter Kimi Antonelli, but while the Mercedes driver was able to make a clean getaway to take the lead, Max stuttered off the line and almost ground to a halt. Max went from P2 to P22 before being told by GP to “bring the car home”.
Afterwards, Max revealed that problems had begun even before the start. “Already, the formation lap was not going very well. And then the pre-start was terrible. There was no consistency and then [at the start] the engine just dropped out. I got a little bit of power out of the first corner but then it sounded awful. That was it.”
It was left to Isack to carry the flag for the Team and, although he settled into fourth place ahead of Mercedes, he too was soon confronted by issues.
“We got off to a clean start and were managing the race, and then within the first 10, 15 laps I started having massive drivability issues,” he said afterwards. “And around here, if there’s one track you don’t want that, it’s here. So it was incredibly challenging, having to cover 60 laps like that.”
Isack then put in a remarkable, doggedly determined performance. For the following 10 laps, he made his car as wide as possible to keep Russell at bay, and even a lock-up on lap 28 that sent him straight through the chicane couldn’t upset his rhythm. Russell complained loudly that Isack had gained an advantage, but the Stewards didn’t see it that way and Isack carried on in P4.
On lap 32, Mercedes pulled the strategic pin. With pace in hand, Russell dived into the pit lane, looking for an undercut. The Team immediately responded by bringing Isack in for a switch to Hard tyres, but his reduced pace versus Russell’s out-lap meant that, as the Red Bull driver rejoined, Russell swept past. However, the British driver was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Isack wasn’t the only driver struggling. On lap 45, Lando Norris’s battery failed and both Russell and Isack powered past. And when the McLaren driver’s team-mate, Oscar Piastri, pitted on lap 49, Isack returned to fifth place, almost 13 seconds clear of the Australian.
The McLaren driver began to close in, and it became clear that he would reel in Isack in the closing stages. However, the Frenchman’s chances of securing fifth place were boosted when Piastri was handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
On lap 60, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll went into the barriers at the final corner, Anthony Noghes, and the Safety Car was deployed. That sparked a flurry of pit stops. Mercedes stacked its cars and the delay for Russell meant that Isack was able to make his stop and emerge ahead of the Briton. There was more bad news for Mercedes as it emerged that Russell didn’t serve his time penalty properly during his stop, and he was eventually handed a drive-through penalty.
The Ferraris also stacked, with Hamilton delaying Leclerc, and when Isack was allowed to unlap himself under the Safety Car, the Frenchman found himself in a remarkable third place.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 65, but as racing resumed, Leclerc locked up into Anthony Noghes and slammed into the barriers. The Safety Car was deployed for a second time. However, it became a red flag when it was reported that, in Turn 19, where resurfacing work had been undertaken, the track was breaking up.
After temporary repairs had been made to the track, Race Control indicated that the race would resume with laps behind the Safety Car, followed by a standing start.
When the lights went out for the second time, Isack couldn’t get off the line as quickly as the others and was passed by Russell and then, in Sainte-Dévote, by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Russell had a drive-through to serve, however, and when he headed for the pit lane, Isack rose back to fourth place.
With Gasly set to take a 10-second time penalty at the flag, all Isack had to do was stay within touching distance of the Alpine and fend off pressure from Piastri behind. And after more than 70 laps of intense pressure, a little more was no problem for the Frenchman. He managed the final laps superbly to take his first podium in Oracle Red Bull Racing colours and his first since last year’s Dutch Grand Prix.
“I knew the cars ahead had penalties,” he said. “But I had limited power and I never had to send it that much in my life through the corners to stay within five seconds of Pierre. But yeah, it’s an outstanding weekend considering how it started in FP1. To get back up… We did it. So yeah, I’m happy.”
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