Hadjar claims career-best P4 in Zandvoort qualifying

Isack Hadjar produced the best qualifying performance of his fledgling Formula 1 career on Saturday, putting his Racing Bulls car fourth on the grid for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The 20-year-old rookie’s 1m09.208s lap snatched a spot on the second row alongside Max Verstappen, leaving Hadjar to start behind pole-sitter Oscar Piastri and teammate Lando Norris, with Verstappen third.

McLaren supplied the expected front-row battle, with Piastri edging Norris for pole, but Hadjar’s late charge was the session’s surprise. He said afterward that the lap was probably the best he had driven in an F1 car, praising car balance and a final-corner push that gained “one more tenth.” “Very happy. Finally, I’m quite satisfied with what I did,” he told reporters. He also cautioned that gusty winds at Zandvoort can be decisive, saying a sudden gust can cost “up to two tenths in a single corner.”

Hadjar’s run into Q3 capped a promising day for the sister Racing Bulls entries; teammate Liam Lawson also made Q3 and will start eighth. Lawson expressed frustration at a lack of pace gain from Q2 to Q3 and said engineers would need to investigate why the car did not improve as expected....