Better than seventh possible in China F1 quali without wind changes

Isack Hadjar reckoned his Racing Bulls car had the potential to be even further up the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix after qualifying seventh for his second Formula 1 race.

The Frenchman eased into the final part of qualifying and outqualified team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, albeit as the Japanese driver aborted his final lap following an off at Turn 13.

Despite qualifying only 0.438 seconds behind Oscar Piastri’s pole lap, Hadjar believed there was the possibility to gain a couple more positions and interlope among the frontrunning teams, citing the changing wind direction as a mitigating factor.

Having felt the balance in his VCARB 02 was good in the opening part of qualifying, the diminutive Parisian believed this began to slip away as the wind shifted throughout the session, and this left time on the table in Q3.

“I think the best feeling I had was in Q1 with the car and then Q2 I think the wind was just changing a bit,” Hadjar said.

“I could never find the same balance, so I was struggling a bit more with the car and I knew I was losing out. I think there was more lap time, more positions to gain.

“I think if I can get my start improved [to be] like Yuki, then I think I have a good shot at staying around where I’m at.

“Of course the goal is to score points. To be with the big boys, it’s definitely a good feeling.

“The problem is simply the launch in the first few metres; I think this morning was not amazing, and I have a few issues but I know what to improve.”

One of the key strengths in the Racing Bulls machinery in China has been with the car’s front end, which has allowed both Hadjar and Tsunoda to point their cars through the corners and needing minimal corrections on the wheel.

On a front-limited track like Shanghai, where the grip of the front tyres is the defining factor, the weekend has so far played into the Italian squad’s hands.

Although it showed this trait in Melbourne during the season opener, which Hadjar said allowed him to feel immediately comfortable, he said it was indicative of what the car had shown in Bahrain testing.

“I hit the ground [running] in Melbourne straight away,” said Hadjar. “Relative to the others, the car felt performant, but in terms of feeling compared to Bahrain, it didn’t feel like worlds apart.

“Maybe we are good at hiding [our testing pace], I don’t know, but we had the same package, so there’s no reason for the car to be much better.

“[The result] shows the potential is really high but then at the moment, at this stage of my career, putting everything together on the final Q3 lap is the hardest exercise for me, so I need to work a bit on that.”