Formula 2 championship contender Isack Hadjar is targeting victory at Monaco this weekend, calling the historic street circuit “the best track in the world.”
Hadjar has every right to be in a buoyant mood after his Feature Race victory in Imola last weekend, his second in succession bringing him to third in the Drivers’ standings, just nine points behind championship leader Zane Maloney.
The French driver has fond memories of racing at the principality, winning there in 2021 in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (Freca), shortly before signing with the Red Bull Junior Academy.
“What I like the most about the track is the layout, I think it’s amazing,” Hadjar said.
“I’ve won there before, it was actually the weekend I was signed by Red Bull, so it brings back a lot of memories for me. It’s a special place and I think it is the best track in the world.”
Hadjar noted ahead of the weekend how racking up laps in Free Practice is important to prepare for “the best qualifying session of the year.”
The Red Bull Junior said “You want to get the mileage so Free Practice is really intense because you want to find the limit but at the same time you need to stay on track and not crash.
“It’s where you get the adrenaline rush going so close to the barriers everywhere, it’s just amazing.
“I think the Qualifying lap is about confidence on the brakes, being able to brake really late. At this circuit it’s really hard to make that step on braking because everything is close. I think it’s about how much margin you leave to get close to the walls.
The Campos Racing driver has started his Monaco weekend well, posting the fourth-fastest time in a rain-affected practice session on Thursday.
Qualifying on Friday, set to commence at 15:10 local time (GMT+2) will be split into two groups.
Even numbers will go into Group A, and odd numbers into Group B.
Hadjar, running the #20, will head out in the initial Group A qualifying session, with the fastest driver out of both Groups claiming pole.
“There is always an opportunity to overtake but the guys ahead have to make a mistake otherwise it’s really complicated, so you better start on pole,” said Hadjar.
“It would mean a lot to me to win in Monaco. The target will be to get Pole of my group and then deliver from there.
“That’s all I have in mind for Monaco.”
