'It was outstanding' – Mekies praises Hadjar's Azerbaijan GP podium on return

Laurent Mekies has praised Isack Hadjar’s performance in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as “outstanding”, after the Red Bull driver returned from a wrist injury to claim a podium.

Hadjar made his first appearance since sustaining the injury during the summer break, and despite a steady start during practice in Baku to build up confidence, took an impressive fourth in Qualifying.

It also included starting ahead of Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen, and although he let the charging Dutchman through in the opening laps, Hadjar stayed with the four-time World Champion, eventually moving up to third after Oscar Piastri made a mistake at Turn 1 in the closing stages.

“I think it was outstanding what Isack has produced this weekend,” said Team Principal Mekies.

“Really outstanding. At first, the most important thing is that he felt straight away good in the car, no pain. Every time that we met together in the last few weeks we said we will wait for Isack to come back at 100%, because that's the priority.

“Nonetheless, even without pain, it's not an easy track to go back to, because of the no margin for error. And he has been building up his rhythms, session after session, very calmly, with a lot of energy – with a lot of positive energy.”

As well as making his return, Hadjar was also confirmed as being retained by Red Bull for 2027 after a sophomore season where the Frenchman has steadily improved his pace, which includes a podium in Monaco.

Mekies admits he was particularly impressed by Hadjar's calmness during Saturday's race in Baku, after insisting over the radio he didn't want to fight Verstappen and compromise both their races.

“It shows you how cleverly the kid is racing, and how much of brain capacity he is developing while in the car, and how much emotion control he is managing to have," said Mekies.

"And [there are] many indicators of steps he has made in all these areas, on top of producing more speed.

“So it's exactly that trajectory that has been impressing us every day since he has joined the team. Probably last year as well.

"And that's also there that we want to give him the best possible environment for him to continue to develop, because that step was truly impressive.”