Following a troubled debut retirement in Australia due to power issues, Isack Hadjar finished 12th at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix in a Red Bull car he called undriveable and dangerous, hampered by early battery failure and poor pace. A safety car from Oliver Bearman's heavy crash disrupted his strategy, as Kimi Antonelli took victory.
Isack Hadjar qualified eighth at Suzuka but lost positions early due to a battery problem that sapped power. The Frenchman, who retired from the season-opening Australian GP on lap 11 with similar power unit troubles, vented frustration: 'It's not even 1% of how bad this race was. I need to understand why that battery situation happened so early. I was comfortable in eighth, fighting Pierre Gasly, then it all faded.'
He sparred with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who earned a black-and-white flag for moving under braking—'not very useful for both of us, but he's young,' Hadjar noted. Pitting just before the lap-22 safety car dropped him to 13th; he overtook Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto to hit 11th but finished 12th after Hulkenberg repassed.
To Canal+, Hadjar said: 'We didn’t have good pace anyway—worse than earlier in the weekend. It was really undriveable, even dangerous.' The safety car stemmed from Haas' Oliver Bearman's 50G crash at Spoon Curve (308kph) while passing Franco Colapinto, who was battery-harvesting. Bearman sustained a right knee contusion but no fractures, per Haas boss Ayao Komatsu; he started 18th and was fifth in standings pre-race. Colapinto (16th) flagged 2026 regulation closing-speed dangers.
With four points from the first three rounds entering a five-week break—after Bahrain and Saudi cancellations—Hadjar remains optimistic only about his driving: 'The only positive is that I can drive the car fast. But we have no lead on making it fast.'
