Hadjar optimistic for Q3 fight in Bahrain after ‘good feeling’ in P6 during Friday practice

Isack Hadjar is hopeful that he can again be in the mix for Q3 during Saturday’s Qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix, having caught the eye by ending Friday in sixth place on the timesheets ahead of the likes of Max Verstappen.

After scoring his debut points last time out in Japan – a weekend in which he also made his second consecutive Q3 appearance – Hadjar again looked to have good pace during Free Practice 2 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

FP2: Piastri leads Norris as McLaren dominate second practice in Bahrain

Reflecting back on his session after jumping out of the car, the Racing Bulls driver admitted that he had felt much more comfortable in the more representative conditions of second practice in comparison to FP1 earlier in the day.

“FP2 was good compared to FP1 – [in] FP1 it didn’t make any sense with how hot the track was, so it was not reliable information, I would say,” Hadjar explained. “FP2 made much more sense, and our one-lap pace again we were quite strong.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 11: Isack Hadjar of France driving the (6) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls — Hadjar had a «good feeling» in the Racing Bulls car during second practice in Bahrain

“I had a good feeling with the car. Still room for improvement, because I would say this was actually our first real session today, so a lot to look forward [to] tomorrow.”

On the changing grip between the sessions, the Frenchman added: “It was worlds apart. This morning was really not enjoyable, now it’s back to pretty much F1 standards, I would say. It was a big difference.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the action from FP2 in Bahrain as Piastri sets the pace from Norris

Now Hadjar’s attentions switch to Saturday, with the rookie keen to prepare well in order to put himself in with the best chance of another Q3 progression.

“I’m always optimistic [about reaching Q3], because I know I’m going to put the work in tonight and tomorrow, but definitely we are still in the mix,” said Hadjar. “But it’s going to be a hard fight.

“It’s not surprising [to see the close gaps in the top 10]. It’s what you would expect in the midfield, so I know tomorrow is going to be about details.”

As for team mate Liam Lawson, the New Zealander ended FP2 in 12th place and echoed Hadjar’s sentiments about the challenge posed by the conditions in first practice.

Lawson: ‘The car’s in a pretty good place’

“FP2 was more tricky for us, weirdly, because FP1 track conditions were an absolute disaster,” Lawson conceded. “I don’t think I’ve ever driven such a difficult session, to be honest.

“[In] FP2, balance went away from us a little bit, but in general I think the car’s in a pretty good place – it’s just fine tuning. Obviously tomorrow we have a session in the day which is not going to help us for Quali, so we’ll be looking into this session and taking what we can for Quali tomorrow.”

The Bahrain International Circuit is a familiar track for most of the field – given that the venue hosted pre-season testing this year – and Lawson admitted that this is likely to make the margins even finer across the field.

“I made a pretty big mistake in FP2 and it absolutely dropped me down, so for all of us we have to absolutely nail the lap because otherwise it’s very, very costly here,” the 23-year-old said.

“With everybody being [at] testing, I think everybody has a pretty good car, and it’s cool because right now Formula 1 is a bit like that – the difference between a really good lap and a bad lap can completely change your position, so it puts pressure on us.”