Isack Hadjar experienced a difficult race at the Canadian Grand Prix, where tyre degradation severely impacted his performance and stalled Racing Bulls’ progress. Despite a promising pace during the recent European triple-header, both Hadjar and his teammate Liam Lawson struggled to maintain tyre performance in Montréal, forcing early pit stops and hindering their chances to advance through the field.
Challenges From the Start Affecting Hadjar’s Race
Hadjar began the race in 12th position after a three-place penalty for impeding but quickly found that his tyres wore down excessively. This problem forced him to pit early, resulting in a prolonged one-stop strategy while stuck behind slower cars. Under pressure, Hadjar admitted his confidence was low and his car handling difficult to control throughout the weekend.
I had high tyre degradation on the medium. We opened the front left very early, very sudden, and the pace was just very poor. In the end, it was quite easy to overtake, and I didn’t stand a chance. That’s it.
—Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
Since the start of the weekend, I’m struggling to get a handle on the car. Confidence is very low, even in qualifying. P9 was okay, but I pulled out that lap fighting the car. And over 70 laps, I can’t do it.
—Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
When questioned about the sudden drop in tyre performance, Hadjar noted that track temperature did not seem to be the cause, pointing out their previous competitiveness at warmer circuits like Barcelona.
I don’t know. Barcelona was warmer than this, and we were fast, so it’s not the temperature.
—Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson Faces Mechanical Troubles and Qualifying Struggles
Hadjar’s teammate Lawson also encountered difficulties, failing to get his tyres into the optimal window during qualifying and starting 19th on the grid. Beginning the race from the pitlane with a fresh power unit, Lawson lacked the speed to challenge in the midfield, and a cooling system fault eventually forced his retirement on lap 53, adding to Racing Bulls’ woes.
Team Principal Reflects on Difficult Canadian Weekend
Team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the team’s lack of pace and tyre issues as key reasons for their disappointing run at the circuit. Mekies emphasized the tight competition in the midfield, where even a fraction of a second can determine whether a driver advances or falls behind.
The hard fact is that we didn’t have enough pace today to fight in the top 10, Isack suffered high graining on his tyres during the first stint on the mediums and sadly we had to retire Liam’s car due to an issue in the cooling system.
—Laurent Mekies, Team Principal
It’s a tight battle in the midfield and even only one tenth can make the difference, and it was enough to drop back instead of attacking forward.
—Laurent Mekies, Team Principal
Looking back at the last few months, every single improvement we’ve made as a team has been made after tough weekends like this one in Canada.
—Laurent Mekies, Team Principal
Midfield Competition Remains Intense Ahead of Austrian GP
Racing Bulls’ rivals in the midfield capitalized on their misfortune, keeping the battle for points alive through the summer races. Williams leads the pack with 55 points, while Haas has drawn level with Racing Bulls at 28 points each. Aston Martin sits close behind in eighth place with 22 points, thanks to Fernando Alonso’s seventh-place finish. Sauber also matched Racing Bulls with 20 points heading into the next race in Austria.
The intense midfield rivalry continues to shape the race for top positions outside the leading teams, making every development and reliability improvement crucial for Racing Bulls as they look to regain momentum after the Canadian setback.