Isack Hadjar admitted to probably being too lenient with Max Verstappen during the British Grand Prix, while the Frenchman had gotten the better of his teammate during qualifying.
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In his first season with Red Bull, Hadjar qualified in fifth position at Silverstone, two places ahead of the four-time world champion.
During the race, the Frenchman held his position until the fourth lap, when Verstappen managed to overtake him.
The Dutchman then seemed capable of securing a podium before a rear wing problem caused him to go off track.
Hadjar regrets making things easier for Verstappen
Hadjar eventually finished fifth, benefiting late in the race from his teammate’s retirement and the mechanical issues encountered by Kimi Antonelli.
After the race, the Frenchman admitted that he might have been too generous when he was battling with his teammate: “I think I was kind to Max. But it was also interesting to be able to follow him, and I was doing really well at it. Then suddenly, I suffered a huge loss of pace. I wondered if I had done something wrong in managing the tires.”
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Hadjar initially thought his difficulties came from the way he managed his tires. But after switching to hard tires, his problems persisted: “I put on new hard tires and still had no pace. I was very puzzled. Then I was told that I was missing aerodynamic downforce on the car.”
Red Bull eventually identified a problem with the front wing of the RB22. Its replacement immediately allowed Hadjar to regain performance: “Once they changed the front wing, I went back on track and almost immediately gained two seconds. It was really a wasted race.”
An instructive experience
Despite his frustration, Hadjar appreciated the opportunity to follow Verstappen in the race and observe the Dutchman’s behavior: “It was great, quite pleasant, and I felt good behind him for a few laps, until I completely lost my performance. ”
The Frenchman was also impressed by his teammate’s pace: “It was interesting. He was very impressive again today. He was fighting for the podium, so I was able to gather good information, but I would have preferred not to have to change my front wing.”
After nine races, Hadjar is in eighth place in the championship and is only 24 points behind Verstappen. However, this gap would probably have been larger without the Dutchman’s retirements at Silverstone, Monaco, and China.
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