Hadjar eager to move on after FP1 crash in Monaco 'really caught me off guard’

Isack Hadjar insisted that he’s ready to return to building his confidence for the Monaco Grand Prix after being rocked by a heavy crash during FP1, which he admitted “caught me off guard”.

Looking to gradually find the limits around the narrow streets in Monte Carlo, Hadjar pushed slightly too hard at the second chicane of the Swimming Pool and the rear of his RB22 snapped, sending him directly into the barrier.

The incident left his car with a severely damaged front wing and missing wheel, giving Red Bull a significant repair job in the few hours before FP2. Hadjar ultimately only missed a small part of the second session and ended the day in a promising P6, just over a second off Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark time.

“It was going pretty okay,” he said when reflecting on the crash. “Actually I think I was on good laps and gaining confidence, and it's when I gained that confidence I had that moment.

“It really caught me off guard – I didn’t expect to lose it here. Also it’s not a crash you often see here, losing the rear like that so I was surprised. Definitely a tough one.

“I tried to build the confidence back again [in FP2]. I took no risks and lap by lap, just explored a bit more. It took me a minute to get there and there’s still a lot to find but definitely felt decent towards the end so let’s see overnight what we can cook for tomorrow.”

Red Bull seemed firmly in the mix as they left the worst of their bouncing issues in Canada, with Max Verstappen leading the team to P3 in both Free Practice hours on Friday at the Circuit de Monaco.

With Ferrari establishing themselves as the team to beat early on, Hadjar was quizzed on whether he can continue to find more improvements and get in the fight higher up the order alongside his team mate.

“Definitely looking to fight some of the Mercedes,” he concluded. “I think the top three are very strong and on a very good momentum, so we need a very strong FP3 to get things working and close the gap.

“Hopefully we make the most of it and go into Quali and keep ramping up.”