Hadjar loses Malaysian GP podium in final laps as Red Bull suffers mysterious battery failure

Isack Hadjar was left furious after losing a podium finish in the final laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, with the Red Bull rookie describing his car as “horrible” following a mysterious loss of battery power that left him defenceless against the chasing Ferraris.

Hadjar had worked his way up to third after George Russell’s retirement on lap 50, but over the four-lap sprint following the final safety car period, he was unable to defend on the straights and slipped to fifth — nearly four seconds behind Lewis Hamilton at the flag.

“No pace,” Hadjar said. “Something was wrong, because I can’t possibly be a second a lap slower now. Even compared to the Mercedes — the whole weekend we were quicker. And now, in the race, we’re absolutely nowhere. The car was horrible to drive.”

The Frenchman, who had started eighth due to an engine penalty and briefly visited the gravel on a wet formation lap, had otherwise driven a composed race. He passed Liam Lawson for fourth on lap six and held the position through sustained pressure from Hamilton before inheriting third when Russell retired.

The battery issue, however, proved decisive. “Just the last couple of laps, I don’t know how we ended up having no battery,” Hadjar said. “So, in the straights, I can’t defend against the Ferraris, so we lose the podium on something so stupid.”

Hadjar clarified that the problem appeared to be chassis-related rather than a power unit fault, and was concentrated in the opening two laps of the final restart. “It stabilised itself and then I was fast again,” he said. “Otherwise, I would have kept third.”

He also reported a persistent lack of 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. It felt like I was always on the same tyres. It’s a joke.”

Over the 30-lap green-flag running, Hadjar lost an average of 0.881 seconds per lap to team-mate Max Verstappen, who claimed Red Bull’s first grand prix victory of the season. When that was raised with Hadjar, he struggled to find consolation.

“Yeah, but it’s not a good day for me,” he said. “I’m happy for the boys, but it’s a disaster for me.”

Despite his frustration, Hadjar’s 10 points combined with Verstappen’s 25 helped Red Bull cut McLaren’s lead in the constructors’ championship from 76 points to just one. The team’s next opportunity to address the issues comes at the Singapore Grand Prix.

“The whole weekend, I was pretty fast,” Hadjar added. “We need to fix the issue, come back in Singapore and do better.”