Hadjar Blames Russell for Wrecking His Mexico GP and a Sure Shot at Points

Isack Hadjar plummeted to the back of the grid on Lap 1 of the Mexico City Grand Prix after being spun out by George Russell at Turn 6.

Hadjar had qualified seventh for the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on November 2, 2026.

He made up ground in the first few corners of the opening lap and believed he had a shot at the podium.

Then Russell attempted a move on the inside at the narrow Turn 6.

The Mercedes driver sent his W17 up the inside and made contact with the Red Bull.

The collision sent Hadjar spinning and dropping him to the back of the order.

Russell was awarded a 10-second time penalty by the FIA stewards for causing the collision.

Hadjar cut a frustrated figure in the media pen after the race.

“I honestly did not expect George to stick a wheel up Turn 6 because the corner was completely mine,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“Clearly, it’s a shame. This completely ruined my race.”

Hadjar confirmed that his RB22 sustained damage in the incident.

“Little on the front. Little damages,” he said.

“We had to repair something during the pit stop, which took a couple of seconds. But nothing dramatic.”

Despite the damage, Hadjar felt his pace was strong.

“I think the pace on the medium in the first stint anytime out of [Turn] 3 I was good,” he said.

“When we pitted for the softs, I only did two laps but I felt super, super quick.”

“During that Lap 1, I was like, ‘Okay, I have a shot for the podium.’ And then it was finished.”

Hadjar crossed the line in ninth place.

But he did not place all the blame on Russell.

“Honestly, it’s my fault that happened today, the Lap 1 incident, because had I done a better job yesterday, I wouldn’t be starting seventh,” Hadjar said.

“Maybe we are fighting for better than a podium, and we don’t meet George on the way.”

“These things happen. It’s better to maximise your chances at the front. Should have done a better job.”

Hadjar pointed to a run of bad luck in recent races.

“It’s frustrating now. Malaysia, we had the deployment issue. Singapore reliability all the time. Austin, terrible start, I was blocked in the wrong map. So everything is lining up so I have a terrible Sunday at the moment,” he said.

“Once it clicks, it’s going to click, and it’s going to be nice.”

Hadjar endured a difficult weekend both on and off the track in Mexico City.

He had an incident with a fan in the paddock.

He also faced power unit troubles in practice ahead of the race.

The 22-year-old Frenchman will aim for a trouble-free weekend in Sao Paulo.

Russell, meanwhile, had his own problems.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted the team let Russell down.

Russell started from the front row alongside polesitter Lewis Hamilton.

His initial getaway was good enough to retain that position and take the slipstream.

But his Silver Arrow encountered an energy deployment issue.

By the time he got to Turn 1, Russell was down to sixth.