Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen, drivers for the Milton Keynes-headquartered Red Bull Racing team, experienced a contrasting outcome during qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The session saw Hadjar secure a strong starting position, while Verstappen faced challenges.
Hadjar’s Impressive Return
In the initial stages of Q1, both Red Bull cars demonstrated competitive pace. Hadjar, returning to racing action, initially set the fastest lap with a time of 1 minute and 44.702 seconds. This placed him nearly half a second ahead of his teammate Verstappen’s early effort.
Verstappen soon improved his time to 1 minute and 44.279 seconds, briefly taking the lead. However, he was quickly surpassed by George Russell of Mercedes. The two Red Bull drivers and Russell continued to vie for the top positions throughout the first session.
Verstappen regained the lead with limited time remaining in Q1. Shortly after, Hadjar also climbed higher, moving ahead of Russell by a small margin.
As Q1 neared its conclusion, Russell reclaimed the top spot, establishing a significant gap over Verstappen. Both Red Bull drivers had already secured their progression to the next qualifying phase and were in the pits.
Navigating Through Q2
The start of Q2 saw both Hadjar and Verstappen posting strong sector times, initially placing them in first and second positions. However, the McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, soon set faster laps, moving ahead of the Red Bulls.
Q2 evolved into a close contest involving multiple teams. With under four minutes left, Russell, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, and Hadjar occupied the top three places. Verstappen was positioned seventh, behind Lewis Hamilton and Piastri.
Verstappen then improved his standing, moving up to second place. This change pushed other drivers down the order as the session entered its final minute.
With no further improvements affecting the top eight, both Red Bull entries advanced to the final qualifying segment, Q3. They secured starting positions of second and fourth respectively.
Final Qualifying Struggles
The first runs in Q3 proved challenging for Verstappen. His initial lap was significantly slower than Oscar Piastri’s leading time.
Hadjar’s opening lap in Q3 was more competitive, placing him just over a tenth of a second behind Piastri. Russell then improved his own time, creating a considerable gap to Hadjar.
In the final moments, Hadjar improved to fourth place. However, he remained nearly a full second behind Russell. Verstappen, who had shown strong performance in practice sessions leading up to the event, could only achieve eighth place, more than 1.5 seconds adrift of the fastest qualifier.
The qualifying session presented a mix of outcomes for Red Bull. The team celebrated Hadjar’s strong performance, which positioned him on the second row for his return to racing after an injury. Simultaneously, questions are likely to arise regarding Verstappen’s performance in the crucial qualifying session.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Sunday, presenting an opportunity for both drivers to improve their positions from the grid. Milton Keynes residents following the team will be keen to see how both drivers perform in the main race.
This story is based on reporting by MKFM. Read the original coverage: MKFM