Hadjar qualifies last in Singapore after back-to-back engine and gearbox failures

Isack Hadjar will start the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid after enduring two separate mechanical failures at Marina Bay on Saturday — a power unit failure that ended his Sprint race early, followed by a gearbox failure during Q1 that left him unable to set a representative qualifying time.

Red Bull mechanics completed a rapid engine replacement between the Sprint and the evening qualifying session, but the repairs did not hold. Hadjar first reported over team radio that his engine had shut off mid-session, forcing him to return to the garage. On a subsequent run, he lost all gears due to a secondary gearbox failure, ending his qualifying entirely. He was classified 22nd but will start 21st owing to a pre-existing engine penalty applied to Mercedes driver George Russell.

The result was made all the more frustrating for Hadjar by the belief that the car had the underlying pace to progress through the elimination rounds. “I have plenty of soft tyres in the garage right now that are not going to be used,” he said. “And that’s what pisses me off the most right now. I just want to be there and fight with the other guys.”

When asked whether knowing the failures were not his fault made the outcome easier to accept, Hadjar was unequivocal. “No, I want to drive. Honestly, I don’t care about P22. I just want to get out there and do my thing.”

Starting from the back of the grid, Red Bull face little disincentive to fit Hadjar with entirely new mechanical components before Sunday’s race, absorbing any additional grid penalties in the process. The French driver made clear he supports exactly that approach. “Yeah, for sure. We need stuff that is new,” he confirmed. “Tomorrow is an opportunity, obviously, because everything is breaking apart this weekend. Yeah, we need a fresh restart.”

The contrast within the Red Bull garage could hardly be sharper. While Hadjar was stranded in the pit lane, team-mate Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s race — underlining that the mechanical issues appear isolated to Hadjar’s side of the garage rather than a wider systemic problem with the car.