Racing Bulls boss Permane surprised by Hadjar's 'pretty comfortable' performance in Dutch Grand Prix

Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane has admitted that running towards the front of the field during the Dutch Grand Prix "was actually pretty comfortable", as the team secured a podium finish.

Isack Hadjar put in one of the performances of the weekend, taking fourth place on the grid behind both McLarens and Max Verstappen at the Zandvoort Circuit.

Having held his position at the start, the 20-year-old kept both Charles Leclerc and George Russell at bay during various points, and when Lando Norris ahead retired in the closing stages, it allowed Hadjar to become the youngest Frenchman to claim a Formula 1 rostrum.

"A bit dazed, a bit over the moon, excited. Honestly, I can't wait to get to Monza, all of those [races]. Proud of the team," said Permane when reflecting on the podium, the team's first since 2021 when it was known as AlphaTauri.

"I don't want to sound blasé but at the start of the race I thought it was going to be tricky to race the Ferraris and the Mercedes. And then after 10 laps you think, this is going to be okay, we've got this.

"The Safety Car came and that gave us a relatively straightforward stop on to the hard tyre and from then it would have been a run to the end and we had the pace, we were pulling away. So fourth was actually pretty comfortable, which is lovely to say."

While Hadjar was able to claim an unexpected result, team mate Liam Lawson was left frustratingly outside the points after a collision with Carlos Sainz when running seventh and on course for his fifth points finish of the season.

"Such a shame for Liam. He was doing well, he got a great start," said Permane, with Racing Bulls now seventh and only 20 points behind Williams in the Teams' Championship in fifth.

"I don't know where he would have finished, I guess he would have finished with the Mercedes had he not been taken out by Carlos. These things happen, he'll come back strong and we can expect him to be back in Monza fighting."