Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Rookie driver Isack Hadjar said there was nothing he could have done to prevent the dramatic spin he suffered on the opening lap of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The incident occurred at Turn 13 while Hadjar was battling with Oliver Bearman during the high-speed final sector. In a sudden moment of instability, the Red Bull RB22 snapped into oversteer and rotated 180 degrees, forcing the French driver to drop to the back of the field.
Bearman narrowly avoided contact with Hadjar during the spin, a situation that could easily have resulted in both drivers retiring from the race. The near miss became one of the most dramatic moments of the opening lap as the midfield pack fought for position through the technical final corners of the circuit.
Despite the setback, Hadjar managed to recover through the field during the race and eventually finished in eighth position, securing his first points of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The result also proved important for Red Bull Racing, which endured a difficult race overall in Shanghai.
Speaking after the race, Hadjar explained that the car felt significantly more difficult to drive compared with the previous sessions during the weekend.
“The car was just super hard to drive on Sunday, a lot more than it was the last two days,” Hadjar told media including RacingNews365.
The French driver described how the sudden loss of control happened so quickly that he had no opportunity to correct the car.
“It just caught me off guard on lap one, and even the whole race, I was just fighting with it,” he explained.
“It was very instantaneous the way the car snapped out from me. I didn’t have time to make any input. The thing just spun out and I was done.”
The spin highlighted some of the challenges Red Bull has faced during the early stages of the 2026 season. The balance and overall behaviour of the RB22 appeared inconsistent throughout the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, particularly in the final sector where traction and stability are critical.
In the same race, four-time world champion Max Verstappen also encountered problems with his car. The Dutch driver was on course to finish inside the points before he was forced to retire after suffering a mechanical issue that required him to park the car in the pit lane.
Verstappen had also struggled with the handling characteristics of the RB22 throughout the race, reinforcing concerns that the team’s current package is not performing at its expected level.
As a result, Hadjar’s eighth-place finish became the only points-scoring result for the Red Bull camp in Shanghai. However, the rookie acknowledged that the performance achieved reflects the current limitations of the car rather than its full potential.
“With the package we have at the moment, it's all we can deliver,” Hadjar admitted.
The 21-year-old added that the team now needs to carefully analyse the data to understand why the RB22 has not delivered the expected performance.
“We just need to wait and understand why this is not working,” he said.
The difficult start to the season represents a new challenge for Red Bull after several years of competitive dominance in Formula 1. With rivals closing the performance gap across the grid, even small technical weaknesses can significantly impact race results.
For Hadjar, however, recovering from the back of the field to finish eighth still represents an encouraging outcome in what was otherwise a challenging race. His ability to regain positions throughout the race underlined his adaptability and determination during his rookie Formula 1 campaign.
With several races still ahead in the early phase of the championship, Red Bull will now focus on improving the RB22’s performance before the next round as the team aims to return to consistent points-scoring form in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
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