A point earned from the pit lane
Isack Hadjar finished the Singapore Grand Prix tenth, bringing Red Bull one point after technical failures compromised his decisive sessions. The final FIA classification confirms 62 completed laps and a 90.862-second gap to winner Max Verstappen. The result came from a pit-lane start, rather than a regular grid position. In comments published by Formula 1 on Monday, Hadjar welcomes his recovery pace but does not claim that the technical problems have been eliminated.
Sprint and qualifying: different failures
In the Sprint, Hadjar retired with two completed laps. Laurent Mekies identified a power-unit problem behind Saturday’s retirement. In Grand Prix qualifying, Hadjar failed to record a timed lap following a gearbox failure. The Frenchman explained that he tried to return the car to the garage despite knowing his session was over. These are two separately reported diagnoses; there is no basis for treating them as the same failure or inventing which internal component broke.
| Session | What is confirmed | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sprint | Power-unit problem, according to Mekies | DNF · two completed laps |
| Grand Prix qualifying | Gearbox failure | No timed lap |
| Grand Prix | Pit-lane start; recovery on Soft tyres | P10 · one point |
Why he started from the pit lane
Formula 1’s team-reaction report records set-up changes under parc fermé and new power-unit components before the race. Hadjar therefore had to start from the pit lane. Early in the Grand Prix, the driver says he also experienced software issues and was passed by Fernando Alonso. The distinction matters: the Sprint retirement, qualifying failure and early Sunday difficulties do not describe a single incident.
Soft tyres changed the pace of the recovery
Hadjar describes his Medium-tyre stint as damage limitation. After switching to Softs, he could attack harder with less management over the remaining laps. He passed Pierre Gasly late in the race to secure the final points position. Mekies praises his drive and acknowledges that car problems had denied him a proper opportunity in earlier sessions. The final result puts him 6.185 seconds behind ninth-placed George Russell, without establishing where he would have finished from a normal grid position.
The speed is there; a reliability fix is not confirmed
Hadjar says Red Bull still has no guarantee that the failures will not recur and that the break before Austin must be used to investigate. That qualification tempers the optimism generated by Verstappen’s victory. APEX’s reading is that the point rewards the driver’s recovery and the mechanics’ work, but does not replace a complete diagnosis. The next verifiable step is a team confirmation of causes and remedies, rather than a promise of a trouble-free race in Texas.
