Hadjar energised by ‘satisfying’ Q3 appearance in China

Racing Bulls established themselves as the midfield team to beat in Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix as both drivers infiltrated the top 10, with Isack Hadjar getting the better of his rookie rivals.

The young Frenchman put on a mighty performance throughout the hour as both he and team mate Yuki Tsunoda momentarily topped the timesheets towards the end of Q1, remaining firmly in contention for a top spot for the whole session.

Plenty of drivers made small mistakes on their fast laps, with Kimi Antonelli drifting into the gravel and Lando Norris falling victim to track limits multiple times, leaving a window open for the Racing Bulls pair.

Their final timed laps were enough for Hadjar to claim a mighty P7 on tomorrow’s grid as he beat Tsunoda by 0.559s – the Japanese driver settled for P9 as Mercedes’ Antonelli separated the two.

Isack Hadjar leads Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson on track during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) — Hadjar got involved in plenty of battles during the Sprint and finished in 13th

Following the session, Hadjar was full of praise for the team as he appeared to have truly bounced back from his unfortunate crash on the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix.

“Yesterday already they were on it [and] they gave me a really good car,” he said. “I made a mistake and today I didn’t, so I finished the job. It’s a satisfying one.

“I would say the guys ahead are out of reach, of course. There is also Antonelli behind for 50 laps – obviously he’s going to be super hard to keep behind.

“The guys behind me, I think I have a good chance and I look forward to fighting for points, that’s for sure.”

Ninth placed qualifier Yuki Tsunoda of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls is interviewed during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) — Tsunoda believed that he could have qualified higher in China

Tsunoda has already proved that they have a car worthy of scoring points around the Shanghai track after he placed sixth in the Sprint, but was left frustrated by his untidy last lap in Qualifying.

He said: “First of all, I’m happy for the team that we had both cars in the mix. For myself, I just struggled in Qualifying – in Q3 I had a bit of a mistake so apologies to the team, but I’ll take it.”

The pair will have their work cut out for them as they face the challenge of fending off other strong midfield drivers like Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg who line up slightly further back for the second Grand Prix of 2025.