Laurent Mekies praises Isack Hadjar’s ‘outstanding’ Azerbaijan GP return podium

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Isack Hadjar returned to Formula 1 with a podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies publicly hailed the result as “outstanding.” Mekies said the most important part of the weekend was that Hadjar felt “straight away good in the car, no pain,” after missing running during the summer break with a wrist injury.

Hadjar made his first appearance since sustaining that injury, and Mekies noted that the driver had been managed around a single priority: waiting until he could return “at 100%.” In Baku, Hadjar started building confidence during practice, then backed it up by taking a strong fourth place in Qualifying, including starting ahead of Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen.

According to Mekies’ account of the race progression in the source, Hadjar allowed Verstappen through in the opening laps while still keeping close contact. In the closing stages, Hadjar moved up to third after Oscar Piastri made a mistake at Turn 1, securing the podium for his comeback.

Mekies also pointed to Hadjar’s decision-making and emotional control during the race. He said the driver demonstrated how intelligently he was racing while limiting interference with Verstappen, after Mekies had instructed him over the radio that he did not want to fight and compromise both their races.

Reflecting on what the podium indicated beyond the immediate result, Mekies said Hadjar’s calmness showed the “brain capacity” and “emotion control” he has been developing while in the car. He added that there are “many indicators” of progress in multiple areas, alongside producing more speed, and argued that the trajectory has been evident since Hadjar joined the team, and “probably last year as well.”

The Azerbaijan podium came alongside Red Bull’s confirmed decision to retain Hadjar for 2027. The source said that this retention follows Hadjar’s sophomore season, where his pace improved steadily and included a podium in Monaco earlier in the campaign. Mekies said the team wants to provide the “best possible environment” for continued development after a step he described as “truly impressive.”