Isack Hadjar said he thought his life ended in the first race of his Formula 1 career before finishing the moon with his first podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Racing Bulls rookie Hajar crashed on a formation lap in the opening round in Melbourne, then shed tears as he returned to the Australian paddock. From that low moment in March, Hajar scored a spectacular podium at Zandvoort and maintained fourth throughout the majority of the race when Randnoris retired.
“What happened in Australia, in the car, obviously, I thought my life was over,” Hadger said. “But in fact you realize that it can happen and you then bounce very quickly.
“And then, getting a podium where there weren’t too many miracles and not going ahead, no, I wasn’t expecting that, especially in the season.
Hajar took an impressive fourth place on Saturday, but admits he didn’t dream of a podium in the night as he wasn’t sure if he could keep Mercedes and Ferrari cars behind him.
“An outstanding day,” he said. “I didn’t expect to wake up this morning. I was very realistic. I knew George (Russell) was on both me and Ferrari. I didn’t run on Friday either – in the long run.
“It was so tricky. Thankfully, I was fine to keep the fourth. From there, on the opening lap, I knew Charles (Leclerc) was about to go into the move. He did that. I was really comfortable.
“Then, when I hugged him for a while, I actually realized, ‘OK, we have the car pace to fight for the big points.” Towards the end of the race he said, “OK, if something happens right in front of you, you’re actually in the finishing position on the podium.” That’s what happened. ”
The result was not only the first of Haddger, but the first of Racing Bull’s coaching from Alan Permane as team principal, who praised the driver’s handling of opportunities.
“It’s amazing. It was hell on the weekend and it was a really great race,” Palmer told SiriusXM. “Of course I’m very proud of the team. The car went well.
“I wasn’t nervous (pre-race), but beating Ferrari and Mercedes was a tall order. We had a pace and it actually got a lot easier.
“Great performance from ISACK – a great performance. He did exactly what we asked him. There was one stop tire management when we were taking care of things and he did everything we asked him.
“You’re always a little nervous. You saw what happened to poor Rand (Norris) in the last few laps. Something could happen. There’s always that.
