Isack Hadjar left stunned by Lewis Hamilton after Malaysian GP battery issue

Isack Hadjar had a podium in his pocket at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but battery issues thwarted his attempt to defend against the chasing Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. He finished his race in fifth place after he clawed his way back up the pack after a five-place grid penalty saw him start eighth on the grid.

"No pace," he admitted after the race when asked why he didn't look happy with his ten-point haul for Red Bull. But while he admitted an issue with his car, he wasn't able to place it.

"But something was wrong," he continued. "Even compared to Mercedes where the whole weekend we were quicker. And now in the race we're absolutely nowhere. Just the last couple of laps, I don't know how we ended having no battery. So in the straights I can't defend against the Ferraris. We lose the position on something so stupid."

Hadjar qualified ahead of both Mercedes cars on Saturday and started the race on the better intermediate tyre. This allowed him to make the most of the drivers who fell backwards on slicks, including both Ferraris. A podium finish was within his grasp, but his pace on the straights denied him that as his battery failed to give him the power necessary to defend against the charging Ferraris.

"[Hamilton] was 15 seconds behind me and then in a couple of laps he was behind me," the French-Algerian said. "So when, the whole weekend I was really faster... We need to fix the issue back in Singapore and do better."

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

When Williams' Alex Albon came to a stop at Turn 2 after complaining of a gearbox issue, Hadjar pitted under the virtual safety car. The safety car was released with the driver in fourth, and after issues with George Russell's power unit, he was promoted to third. But within moments, Hamilton's Ferrari was on his gearbox and overtook him on the run down to Turn 1. Leclerc followed a lap later, leaving Hadjar far from the podium he was expecting.

"It's just the first two laps of the restart, I don't know why we were so down on the battery. Then it stabilised itself and then I was fast again. Otherwise I would have kept third. But it's just the grip. Even behind the safety car I was feeling that I had no grip and it was going to be a tough restart for me, so it felt like I was always on the same tyres. I came back on the wrong compound."

Red Bull has homework to do before Singapore, and Hadjar sounds like he intends to make sure it gets done.

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- The Motorsport.com Team