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Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar has taken partial responsibility for his collision with George Russell during the Mexico City Grand Prix, despite ultimately fighting back into the points.
The young Frenchman lined up seventh on the grid at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez—just two-tenths and three positions adrift of teammate Max Verstappen. A sharp getaway saw him gain two places, but he soon found himself locked in a fierce duel with the Mercedes driver.
Hadjar tried to defend his line, but Russell held firm heading into Turn 6, keeping his front wheels alongside the rear of the Red Bull. The resulting contact sent the Frenchman into a spin.
"It’s a shame. Honestly, I didn't expect George to stick his front wheel in at Turn 6 because the corner was completely mine. I knew he was there and I shouldn't have trusted him, but that's racing. It completely ruined my race," Hadjar said. "To be fair, the blame for that first-lap incident also lies with me. If I had done a better job in qualifying, I wouldn't have started seventh. We could have been fighting for more than a podium and wouldn't have crossed paths with George at all. I simply needed to deliver on Saturday."
Russell, who skipped his post-race media duties, was handed a 10-second penalty for the clash. Hadjar fell to 22nd with floor damage and made an early pit stop on Lap 7, rejoining ahead of only the Aston Martins.
The Frenchman displayed strong pace on the medium compound in clean air, but managed only two laps on soft tyres before a safety car and a subsequent red flag brought the race to a halt.
At the restart, Hadjar carved through the pack, overtaking Valtteri Bottas, Ryo Hirakawa, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez, before dispatching Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon. However, his charge slowed as he hit a DRS train in the thin air of Mexico City.
"Everyone was rapid on the straights and it created a train of cars where overtaking became extremely difficult. I had a tough battle with Checo, who was braking very late. In these temperatures and at this altitude, everything overheats the moment you follow closely," he explained.
Post-race penalties for Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto eventually promoted Hadjar to ninth place, securing two championship points. Nonetheless, it marked another frustrating weekend for the 22-year-old, who has collected just 11 points over the last three rounds—trailing Liam Lawson's tally of 18 in the same span.
"It’s frustrating. In Malaysia we had a power unit issue, in Singapore reliability let us down, and in Austin the start was a nightmare due to engine settings. Everything seems to be stacking up against me on Sundays. But once everything falls into place, it will all come together," Hadjar concluded.
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