Isack Hadjar: Red Bull struggles in Japan 'make no sense'

The Austrian outfit is in a midfield fight at this weekend's Japanese GP for round three of F1 2026

Isack Hadjar revealed that Red Bull is bemused by the struggles it is facing at the Japanese Grand Prix as the Austrian outfit has regressed into the Formula 1 midfield.

Red Bull’s new-for-2026 signing will start Sunday’s race at Suzuka in eighth, having qualified 1.2s off polesitter Kimi Antonelli though it was even worse for team-mate Max Verstappen.

The four-time world champion suffered a shock Q2 exit in 11th, leading to him claiming that “there is something wrong” with the RB22, adding it is “completely undriveable” as the Red Bull woes continue.

Last time out in China, for example, it failed to score a point in the sprint race before taking a tally of just four in the grand prix: Hadjar finished eighth, while Verstappen retired with a mechanical fault.

It was hoped that Shanghai was simply an anomaly given the Melbourne opener was rather positive - Hadjar qualified third though retired with an engine failure, while Verstappen finished sixth - but round three in Japan has shown that Australia was in fact the outlier.

So, when asked if the team understands which direction it needs to work in, Hadjar said: “No, not right now. What we are seeing this weekend makes no sense.”

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

This strikes resemblances to the beginning of 2025, as the RB21 was a highly unpredictable car and it was only mid-season upgrades that brought Verstappen into the title conversation late on.

The target was to therefore produce a more driver-friendly car for 2026, one that would suit both sides of the garage and not just Verstappen, who until now has consistently had team-mates that have struggled against him.

But it’s still not fixed that problem, as instead of fighting the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren at the start of these new regulations, it is being outqualified by Alpine, Audi and sister squad Racing Bulls.

“It was very hard to drive,” added Hadjar. “I think last year's car was fast. It was hard to drive, but fast. Our car [in 2026] is hard to drive and slow, so we need more efficiency. Lap by lap, session by session, you always have to guess what you're going to get, so it's not nice to build up.”

The RB22’s balance is where it particularly struggles and being strong in that area at tracks like Suzuka is especially critical, due to its high-speed bendy nature with the Esses in sector one.

“It changed massively compared to FP3,” said Hadjar of the balance. “On my first lap, I thought I was going to crash straight away. It was just sliding everywhere, I was barely turning the steering wheel. We just had to work around what we had and make it better through the session and we did a good job.

“We've got no load. That's it. It goes in one direction or the other very quickly. Like I said, FP3 was the opposite balance. We go into quali, it's the other thing around.”