02/08/2025 12:00
Isack Hadjar has revealed he has been told by Racing Bulls to
"cheer up" when he achieves a strong result. Hadjar has enjoyed a
strong opening half to the campaign with five top 10 grand prix
results, including a career-best sixth at Monaco. The Frenchman's
performances this year have earned him praise, leading to him being
linked with a step-up to the senior Red Bull squad alongside Max
Verstappen. Hadjar stated he is easily self-critical of his
displays, but has been told to take a more relaxed approach to
celebrate when he performs well. "I need to cheer up a bit more
when I have a good race for my team," Hadjar told the media,
including RacingNews365 . "When I have a very good result and I
know there was more left on the table and I could have done a
better job, I tend to be self-critical a lot. "My entourage has
told me that I need to cheer up a bit more because the mechanics,
the engineers, they need to hear positive things. "But I can tell
you that when I do the job and I'm happy with myself, if there's
someone who celebrates and goes crazy, it's me. "But it's quite
rare." Hadjar has conceded to having doubts over his F1 abilities
due to his limited testing prior to his debut. But with over half
of the season now behind him, the 20-year-old asserted he feels he
has adequately adjusted to the sport's demands. Asked if he was
surprised by his performances, Hadjar said: "Not really, because if
you make it to F1, then it's not by luck. "But at the same time,
you always have doubts, and it's normal. You always question
yourself, 'Am I good enough?' "That's what I felt. I had doubts
because I didn't have a lot of mileage. It's a big step to F2. But
in the end, now I'm fully used to the speed and I'm not surprised."