Isack Hadjar has taken responsibility for his collision with George Russell during the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, an incident that initially ruined his race before he ultimately inherited ninth place and two points. Starting from seventh position on the grid—three spots behind Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen—Hadjar made a strong start to gain two places before tangling with the Mercedes driver.
The Turn 6 Collision and Race Aftermath
As Hadjar defended his position, Russell placed his front tyres alongside the Red Bull’s rear wheels entering Turn 6 rather than backing out, sending Hadjar’s car into a spin. Motorsport.com reported that Russell skipped post-race media commitments and did not comment on the crash, but officials handed the Mercedes driver a 10-second penalty. Hadjar dropped to 22nd place with minor floor damage and made an early pit stop on lap seven.
Reflecting on the incident, Hadjar admitted fault for the lap-one collision while explaining that he did not expect Russell to attempt a move in that corner. He noted that starting further up the grid would have kept him out of that battle, pointing out that a better qualifying performance would have put him in contention for a podium finish rather than mid-pack trouble.
Despite the setback, Hadjar praised his initial pace on the medium tyres during clear air and felt extremely fast after switching to soft tyres before a safety car and red flag disrupted his strategy. During his recovery drive, he overtook several drivers including Valtteri Bottas, Ryo Hirakawa, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez, though he highlighted the difficulties of overtaking in a DRS train where high temperatures and altitude strain the cars.
Frustrations and Recent Struggles
Prior to post-race penalties applied to Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto that promoted him to ninth, Hadjar highlighted his strong start as the sole positive takeaway from the event. He noted that the team must analyze why the launch went so well in order to replicate it at future rounds.
The result marks another challenging weekend for the 22-year-old driver, who has accumulated only 11 points over the past three grands prix. Hadjar expressed his frustration over a string of difficult Sundays affected by deployment issues in Malaysia, reliability troubles in Singapore, and engine map problems at the start in Austin, remaining hopeful that his fortunes will soon improve.
