‘Super-frustrated’ rookie Isack Hadjar rues over Racing Bulls' fortunes at Saudi Arabian GP

Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar expressed frustration over getting held up in the Saudi Arabian GP by the Williams pairing's clever tactics. Despite securing a points finish, the rookie rued a potential placing higher up the order.

Hadjar began his race in 14th, two spots below his teammate Liam Lawson. After the race started, the Kiwi ran off-track to avoid Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly's crash, which allowed Hadjar to slip past his teammate in the running order.

After breaking into the top ten, Hadjar got stuck behind the Williams duo, who kept each other in contention with a DRS slipstream. Consequently, the French driver remained trapped in their wake throughout the race.

Talking to the media post-race, Hadjar reflected upon the Williams' strategy and said, via Formula1.com:

“To be fair, I didn’t know points were possible on pure pace and actually, we managed to do it. So it was a really good effort and it was super-frustrating because if they were not teammates, P8 was on the table quite easily. But it’s part of racing. We would have done the same.

"Honestly, on the straight they were freaking fast and Alex didn’t make a single mistake. Two experienced drivers helping each other, I think there’s nothing I could have done,” he added.

Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten to score his second points-paying finish of the season. He previously recorded his season-best eighth-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.

---

Isack Hadjar's teammate Liam Lawson reflects on a tough race at Jeddah

Isack Hadjar's teammate, Liam Lawson, lamented a tough break battling traffic at the Jeddah Corniche circuit. The Racing Bulls driver was relegated to a pointless outing after getting stuck behind a DRS train at Formula 1's fastest circuit of the calendar.

Reflecting upon the same, Lawson admitted to a poor start that took him out of contention early on.

"I didn’t have a great start and then was in the wrong place on the first lap when everything sort of happened and I went off track. It’s a shame. I think the car is pretty quick, honestly, and we just spent the whole race in traffic again, no matter what we did," he said via Formula1.com

Liam Lawson finished the Saudi Arabian GP two spots below his teammate, Isack Hadjar. Although the Kiwi ran behind Hadjar throughout the race, he was hit with a ten-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while passing Jack Doohan. This dropped him one spot behind Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, adding to his run of misfortunes.

Lawson is yet to score his first points of the season, leading to a dismal ranking of 18th in the Drivers' standings.