Isack Hadjar gets three-place grid drop for Canada GP
15th June 2025Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar will have to serve a three-place grid penalty for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix after impeding Williams’ Carlos Sainz in qualifying.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
During qualifying for the Canadian GP, Hadjar was on a cooldown lap at the end of Q1 when Sainz approached the Racing Bulls rookie, on a fast lap.
Hadjar, at the turn six/seven chicane, thought Sainz was aborting his lap whilst the Spaniard expressed his frustration over the matter. The Williams driver was quick to call out the impeding.
Following the incident, Sainz was knocked out of qualifying in 17th, whereas Hadjar climbed up to Q3, qualifying ninth overall.
In the investigation by the Stewards, the officials confirmed Hadjar tried to move off the racing line but deemed the move was too late. The rookie agreed he had impeded Sainz.
The team told the Frenchman that Sainz was on a hot lap then later advised he had aborted it. After realising the information was wrong, Hadjar reportedly tried to move out the way.
In the report, the stewards said:
“Car 6 [Hadjar] was on an in-lap and was caught by Car 55 [Sainz], on a push lap, at the entry to turn 6. Although Car 6 attempted to move off the racing line to leave space for Car 55, the move was too late. The driver of Car 6 agreed that Car 55 was impeded.
“He explained that he had earlier been told by his team that Car 55 was approaching on a push lap but the team then told him that Car 55 had abandoned the lap.
“He said that although he saw Car 55 in his mirrors, he relied upon what he had been told by his team and when he realised the information was wrong he did his best to move out of the way.
“The standard penalty for this infringement during Qualifying in the Penalty Guidelines is a 3 grid position penalty regardless of whether the incident was the fault of the driver or the team.”
As a result of the penalty, it now means Hadjar will start the race in 12th, promoting Williams’ Alexander Albon, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg up one position.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- George Russell pips Verstappen to Canada GP pole position
- Yuki Tsunoda given 10-place grid penalty for Canada red flag breach
- Lando Norris tops final practice of Canada GP ahead of Leclerc
- Lance Stroll return confirmed ahead of F1 Canadian GP
- F1 and FIA announce 2026 Calendar
- Max Verstappen one point away from race ban after Spanish GP collision
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or our website!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
