Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has expressed his concern about Isack Hadjar’s current form, believing that his accident in Miami could trigger a dangerous spiral.
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Hadjar had a difficult weekend in Miami, unable to compete with his teammate Max Verstappen during the various competitive sessions.
Whether in sprint qualifying or Grand Prix qualifying, Verstappen built a significant gap with the young Frenchman, sharply contrasting with the encouraging performances shown by Hadjar during the early rounds of the season.
Chandhok worried after the RB22 developments
According to Chandhok, what is particularly revealing is that this drop in form comes just after the arrival of significant technical upgrades on the car.
“What strikes me is that in Japan, Hadjar and Verstappen were very close, Chandhok explained on Sky F1. And we all said: ‘It’s strange at Suzuka, the ultimate test of driving which is nevertheless a perfect circuit for Verstappen. What is going on?’ “
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But the former driver believes that the car’s improvement paradoxically made the situation more difficult for Hadjar: “I feel that as soon as the car improved, the performance window progressed and they started aiming for the front rows and pole positions, we went back to that gap of eight or nine tenths. “
A frustrating accident
During Sunday’s race, Hadjar retired on the sixth lap after hitting the inside wall at turn 15. The impact damaged his steering column before he ended his race in the outer barriers.
Chandhok now hopes that this incident will not mark the beginning of a loss of confidence similar to that experienced by several former teammates of Verstappen at Red Bull and Racing Bulls: “I feel bad for Hadjar, because this accident on the fifth lap is exactly what he did not want, he said. He needed to complete laps to regain some confidence. “
However, the Indian fears that the psychological pressure will become difficult to manage: ” I hope this is not the start of a spiral for him, as we have seen with the five or six previous teammates. That gap of eight or nine tenths has returned once again.”