Isack Hadjar has admitted he feared he would finish outside the points at the Monaco Grand Prix due to the numerous problems he encountered during the race.
Despite those difficulties, Hadjar battled through to secure third place, claiming his first podium finish since being promoted to Red Bull.
The Frenchman then faced an anxious wait after the chequered flag as he came under investigation for an alleged safety car infringement. However, the stewards ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing, allowing him to retain his podium result.
The achievement capped a challenging weekend for Hadjar, whose Monaco campaign began in difficult fashion after a crash during the opening practice session.
“For many reasons, it’s a satisfying result because obviously I started the weekend in the worst way possible,” Hadjar told media including RacingNews365.
“It’s a track you want to build confidence throughout every lap. You want to be on track and I felt like I didn’t really have a Friday.
“If anything, I lost all my confidence in FP2 because I just didn’t have any feeling with my car.
“And in FP3, I made a step and by pushing through and being competitive, I gave myself an opportunity for today’s race and it paid off.”
Hadjar's difficulties did not stop in the grand prix itself, as an issue with his car made it highly challenging to bring to the chequered flag.
“I wish it was going to be an easier race, but I faced so many issues in the car that I really thought it was going to be a weekend outside the points at some point,” he explained.
“Very early, from I would say lap 12, something like that, I started having driveability issues and it was just undriveable.
“In Monaco, especially here, it’s not like you can allow yourself to skip using first gear, second gear, and this is where the problem was. It was very hard to drive.
“I was down on power at some point. Also on the final restart, on that start, still need to figure out our problems, but I kept pushing and we’re here. I’m happy.”
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