Isack Hadjar has lamented a mistake in Mexico Grand Prix qualifying, although he ‘maxed out’ his Racing Bulls Formula 1 car’s potential despite an obvious flaw.
Hadjar surprisingly topped Q1 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, leading Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 0.003s, but failed to improve his lap time in the next phase of qualifying, scraping through to Q3 by 0.012s over Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Hadjar eventually gained half a second in Q3, qualifying into a ninth position that will turn to eighth on the grid thanks to Carlos Sainz’s five-place grid penalty – right behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. “Saying it like this, it’s true it’s a good session,” Hadjar admitted.
“But I’m still a bit pissed. I was on a very good lap, made a bit of a mistake, and actually I was more far than I expected. So clearly, the other guys made good progress through qualifying and we didn’t.”
Topping Q1 meant Hadjar “expected more” for the remainder of qualifying. “But of course, the top teams, they keep finding performance through qualifying, and we simply don’t,” he added.
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Racing Bulls wasn’t helped by its car’s clear weakness, especially in a stadium section where you can gain – or lose – a lot of time on kerbs.
“Clearly, I’m not going to lie, the main issues we have with our car, it’s just the kerb-riding, it’s just poor,” Hadjar rued. “It’s the compromise between how much load you’re giving up and how much compliance you get with your car.
“Honestly, we made all the right calls [between Friday and Saturday], so that’s the most important to me. We really understood what was going on – we were slow, and now we’re pretty fast. So within two sessions to turn the car around is very good.”
He added: “In the end, we managed to max out pretty much everything, so very good.”
Hadjar is, however, frustrated with his position on the grid, having started seven of the last nine grands prix from the ‘dirty’ side, away from the grippier racing line – with his other two starts taken from the pitlane.
“Honestly now, it’s been I don’t know how many races I’m starting on the wrong side of the grid,” the Frenchman lamented. “Because I know my starts are good, but we keep being on the wrong side, and it’s a long run into Turn 1. But let’s see… should be chaos, hopefully, and I will take the opportunity.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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