Hadjar infuriated with Red Bull's RB22 in sarcastic Hungarian GP takedown

Hadjar, who has faired better as Verstappen's teammate in 2026 than many of his predecessors, was once again close to the Dutchman in Qualifying for the Hungarian GP - with only George Russell and a tenth of a second separating the Red Bull duo. While Verstappen is very much still the main man at Red Bull, his 21-year-old teammate has outqualifed him on three occasions in 2026.

But when it came to the race on Sunday, neither Red Bull drivers could hide their frustration with the RB22 despite their impressive performances, and listening to team boss Laurent Mekies' comments with regard to when the team shifts focus to the 2027 car, the duo might have to accept they're stuck with a difficult car sooner rather than later.

Speaking after his P2 finish in Hungary, Verstappen admitted he "doesn't understand how we are second," and when asked if he was any happier with the RB22 as the weekend progressed, he told GPblog and others: "No, it's exactly the same. There's nothing that you can change anyway after Qualifying.

Hadjar, who had already complained post-Qualifying that Red Bull were "nowhere" with the grid's fourth fastest car, was also asked how difficult it had been to get the RB22 into the right window ahead of his eventual P6 finish at the Hungaroring.

"We didn't succeed to achieve that," Hadjar told GPblog, among others. "Finding a sweet spot and having something driveable for me was not possible the whole weekend. On paper, I was confident it was a track that was going to suit us, but then it just didn't really come alive."

Quizzed on what are the main limitations in the car, Hadjar sarcastically noted the downshifts, a bug bear for both he and his teammate this season, as heard in a number of angry radio outbursts so far.

It was, however, put to the Frenchman that his feedback aligned with his teammate's, something which the former Racing Bulls driver found to be "reassuring," alongside his strong performances in Qualifying.