Isack Hadjar Battles "Undrivable" Red Bull in Singapore Sprint Shootout

Isack Hadjar experienced a frustrating downturn during the Singapore Grand Prix sprint qualifying, plummeting to ninth place after a promising start to the weekend. Despite showing early pace in practice, the Frenchman found his Red Bull nearly undrivable in the closing stages of the shootout, leaving him stranded in the midfield.

Why it matters:

This performance gap is particularly glaring given that his teammate, Max Verstappen, topped the session ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc. In the high-precision environment of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where car balance is everything, Hadjar's struggle suggests a critical technical failure or setup mismatch that could jeopardize his momentum in the 2026 season.

The details:

• Performance Collapse: Hadjar reported a sharp decline in performance, noting that the comfort he felt during FP1 on the hard compound completely evaporated during the shootout.
• Technical Gremlins: The driver described the experience as "weird," specifically citing engine issues during his final run that rendered the car nearly impossible to handle.
• Track Limit Frustration: Adding to the struggle, Hadjar's final attempt in SQ3 was deleted for exceeding track limits, cementing his P9 starting position.
• Tire Analysis: Hadjar dismissed the switch to soft tires as a contributing factor, stating that while the grip increase was significant, it was a constant across the entire grid.

What's next:

With the sprint race looming on Saturday, the immediate priority for Red Bull's engineers is to diagnose the "weird" engine behavior to prevent a repeat in the main Grand Prix. For Hadjar, the challenge is now twofold: recovering positions from the midfield in the sprint and proving he can maintain consistency alongside Verstappen as the 2026 championship battle intensifies.