Hadjar apologises to Leclerc after risky Canadian GP move: 'It was a bit stupid'

The Frenchman is coming off his best result of the season in Montreal, with a fifth-place finish providing a major confidence boost heading into the rest of the campaign, especially following Max Verstappen’s first podium of the year during a weekend in which the RB22 looked genuinely competitive once again, much like it did in Miami.

The only blemish on Hadjar’s Canadian weekend, however, came from an overly aggressive defensive move that nearly forced Leclerc onto the grass, prompting the stewards to hand the Frenchman a 10-second post-race penalty, although it did not significantly affect his final result.

Speaking to GPblog and other media after the race, Hadjar admitted he fully accepted the penalty handed to him by the stewards, acknowledging he had been too aggressive in the incident with Leclerc. The Frenchman explained that the move was never intentional, insisting he had simply misjudged where the Ferrari driver was positioning his car on the straight. Hadjar also apologised to Leclerc afterwards, describing the manoeuvre himself as a 'stupid' mistake while praising the Monegasque for being one of the cleanest drivers on the grid.

Speaking more broadly about his race, Hadjar admitted he was left confused by the sudden lack of pace compared to qualifying. The Frenchman explained that the car had felt excellent on Saturday, whereas during the Grand Prix it became difficult to drive and reminded him of the struggles he experienced back in FP1.

Despite Red Bull securing their first podium of the 2026 season in Canada, Laurent Mekies was keen to keep expectations under control after the race weekend. The Red Bull team principal admitted the result represented another encouraging step forward for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, particularly after the upgrades introduced in Miami.

Speaking to GPblog and other media in Montreal, Mekies explained that Red Bull appeared to have reduced the gap to the frontrunners compared to previous rounds, pointing to both the qualifying deficit and the much smaller margin to victory in Sunday’s race compared to Miami. According to the Frenchman, the team not only confirmed the progress already seen in Florida, but may have extracted even more performance from the car in Canada.

At the same time, however, Mekies warned against getting carried away by the result, stressing that the characteristics of the Montreal circuit may also have played a role in helping the RB22 perform more competitively. Even so, he viewed the weekend as another positive indication that Red Bull’s development direction is beginning to deliver results, especially considering several rival teams also introduced fresh upgrades in Canada.