After a season full of strategic missteps, Racing Bulls left nothing to chance in Monaco: Double points good for team morale
The Monaco Grand Prix is considered the most prestigious but also the most strategically demanding race on the Formula 1 calendar. The Racing Bulls team impressively proved that courage can be rewarded: with sixth place for rookie Isack Hadjar and eighth place for Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls scored twelve important points – not only for the constructors’ championship, but above all for their own morale.
CEO Peter Bayer was full of praise for his team’s performance: “A stroke of genius from our strategists,” said Bayer. “We often argued with Laurent [Mekies] about the strategy – but today it was spot on.” He was particularly pleased with the perfect execution of the pit stops and the close teamwork that made the double success possible.
Hadjar experiences a boring race: “I almost fell asleep.”
The race in the narrow streets of Monte Carlo turned into an almost meditative drive for Isack Hadjar himself: “After the second pit stop, it got so quiet that I almost fell asleep,” joked the Frenchman in an interview. Yet the road to P6 was anything but easy, after the Frenchman hit the wall twice on Friday and had to regain his confidence.
“I’m proud that we didn’t give up. We built up the weekend step by step,” said Hadjar. ‘Sometimes I had to pick up the pace in the race just to stay awake.’
Lawson as a team player: ‘It’s not often that you pull it off so perfectly.’
Liam Lawson was also satisfied with his eighth place, despite the fact that his race was strategically designed to help Hadjar move up the field through targeted pace management. “Of course it’s strange to drive slowly on purpose, but it made sense for the team,” said Lawson.
For him, the team spirit was clearly the main focus: “From our side, the race was basically decided after qualifying. But it was a great result for the team.”
Peter Bayer emphasizes the importance of perfectly timed pit stops: ”We knew that the soft tires only perform well for a short time, so timing was everything. You can feel how the team is growing together. The energy, the joy of working together—that’s worth more than any position in the standings.”
With the second race of the triple-header behind them, all eyes are now on Barcelona. “Twelve points are hugely important—and we’re now right on the heels of Haas,” said Bayer. But even more important is the momentum they can now take with them: “That’s how you like to go to Barcelona—with joy and confidence.”
